Overview

• An estimated 250–300 people joined the Freedom For Animals protest, supported by Born Free and The Express, outside the Westminster aquarium.
• Prominent attendees including Chris Packham, Feargal Sharkey, Megan McCubbin and Dale Vince criticized the treatment of 15 gentoo penguins kept underground.
• Campaigners say some penguins have spent 14 years in a windowless enclosure without fresh air, with a pool only six to seven feet deep and no conservation value for a non-endangered species.
• Sea Life said the exhibit provides an appropriate balance of water and land to enable normal behaviours and highlighted its global Breed, Rescue, Protect program.
• Organisers urged owner Merlin Entertainments to relocate the birds to outdoor facilities such as London or Edinburgh Zoos and cited a petition with more than 13,000 signatures, with no relocation announced.