Overview
- Fifteen gentoo penguins remain in an indoor enclosure as Merlin Entertainments says conditions replicate natural habitat with climate control and filtered fresh air.
- Merlin states releasing the birds into the wild is unsafe because they have always lived in human care.
- An open letter signed by 75 MPs urges Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds to order an urgent welfare review and consider relocation to a more suitable facility.
- Petitions led by Freedom For Animals have drawn tens of thousands of signatures, reported between 37,000 and 41,000, with public backing from Chris Packham and Feargal Sharkey.
- A dispute continues over whether the enclosure is a ground-floor exhibit or a basement space, and no decision on relocating the penguins has been made.