Picking on Penguins

 

Picking on Penguins: When Animal Rights Meets Animal Welfare 

Introduction

In May 2011, Sea Life London Aquarium unveiled something entirely new for the capital: penguins. Ten Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua), transferred from Edinburgh Zoo, became the founding residents of a purpose-built enclosure known as Penguin Point. For the first time, visitors to London could watch these Antarctic birds dive, swim, and shuffle across an icy landscape recreated in the heart of the city.

More than fourteen years have passed since that opening, and the colony has grown and changed over time. Today, reports suggest that around fifteen Gentoo Penguins call the exhibit home, though the number has fluctuated as chicks have hatched and some birds have been relocated to other aquariums abroad. In 2021, the London site celebrated its first confirmed breeding success, with two chicks emerging from carefully managed nests - a milestone for the programme.

The enclosure itself is designed to mimic the penguins’ natural environment, with chilled air, cold water, and seasonal light cycles intended to encourage nesting and breeding. Sea Life presents the colony as part of its wider conservation and education efforts, highlighting the species’ adaptability and the challenges they face in the wild.

This long-running exhibit has become a fixture of the aquarium’s identity, offering Londoners a glimpse of Antarctic life without leaving the city. Yet, as with many captive animal displays, it has also attracted scrutiny and debate over welfare, environment, and ethics - issues that continue to shape how the penguins are perceived.

Activists’ Concerns

Animal rights activists have raised serious concerns about the Gentoo Penguins housed at Sea Life London, arguing that their confinement in a windowless basement enclosure amounts to cruelty disguised as entertainment.

The campaign is led by Freedom for Animals and the Born Free Foundation, both organisations that oppose the keeping of wild animals in zoological collections and campaign for such facilities to be closed.

Campaigners claim that the exhibit has no natural light or fresh air, pointing out that the fifteen penguins live underground in conditions far removed from their Antarctic habitat. They also highlight the inadequacy of the enclosure’s shallow pool -  just 6–7 feet deep compared with the 600-foot dives Gentoo Penguins make in the wild.

At the protests, TV presenter Chris Packham described the situation as “penguins in prisons”, while musician Feargal Sharkey condemned the denial of basic freedoms such as light, air, and space.

Cutting Through the Hypocrisy and Hyperbole

One of the more striking aspects of the protest is the involvement of Chris Packham. It is noteworthy that his public support for organisations critical of zoological collections contrasts with the fact that his partner, Charlotte Corney, owns a licensed zoo on the Isle of Wight (inherited from her late father, Jack Corney, in 2003) - an institution Packham has actively supported. Even more ironically, Packham’s stepdaughter, Megan McCubbin, who attended the protest, is a presenter for the BBC’s Animal Park television programme, which promotes Longleat Safari Park.

The concerns raised by the protesters appear to stem from ideological positions regarding animal welfare rather than scientific evidence.

In the UK, all zoos and aquariums open to the public are inspected and licensed under the Zoo Licensing Act, guided by a document known as the Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice - an evolving framework that was recently updated. All zoological collections, including Sea Life London, are subject to stringent welfare regulations. It is therefore difficult to see how, over the fourteen years since the penguins have been exhibited, any significant welfare issues could have gone unnoticed by inspectors.

The type of accommodation provided for these penguins is not unusual either nationally or internationally. For instance, The Deep Aquarium in Hull opened a similar Gentoo exhibit in 2014. Internationally, there are controlled-environment penguin habitats at Loro Parque in Spain, the SeaWorld parks in the USA, and in Abu Dhabi.

Some of the complaints reveal a limited understanding of animal husbandry and the biology of wild species.

It is common for zoological environments to use controlled systems for light (photo-periods) and temperature regulation. In fact, all animals at Sea Life London live in controlled environments within the building. This is standard practice and, when managed properly, does not compromise animal welfare - quite the opposite.

Gentoo Penguins are native to cold regions, and their exhibit is designed to replicate these environmental parameters. See below graphic and the difference in maintaining this species in Scotland vs southern England.



As for the issue of pool depth, this is a simplistic measure. Gentoo Penguins can dive to considerable depths, but the often-quoted figure of 600 feet (180 metres) is misleading. Research on wild foraging behaviour shows that typical maximum dive depths are around 262 feet (80 metres), depending on time of day and prey availability (Williams et al., 1992).

It is important to recognise that penguins do not dive deep for recreation; they dive to find food. If prey were consistently available near the surface, they would exploit that, as shallow dives are less demanding in terms of oxygen use, energy expenditure, and predation risk. In captivity, where food is provided, deep diving serves no functional purpose, and an extremely deep pool would offer no welfare benefit.

Moreover, all of the penguins at Sea Life London were born in captivity, and the colony has successfully bred there - a strong indicator that husbandry and welfare standards are being met. While some argue that animals can reproduce even in poor environments, such conditions rarely lead to successful rearing or long-term thriving. Therefore, as a general welfare indicator, successful breeding and chick survival suggest that the penguins’ needs are being met (Bacon, 2024).

Conclusion

 

While criticism of captive penguin displays continues, the case of Sea Life London highlights the persistent tension between public perception and professional practice in modern zoological care.  

Despite regular inspections under the Zoo Licensing Act, which are designed to uphold scientifically based welfare standards, animal rights activists remain dissatisfied. They have even persuaded several MPs to petition the Secretary of State for the Environment to initiate a special inspection of the aquarium’s penguin exhibit. Such pressure, driven by lobbyists intent on closing zoos and aquariums altogether, undermines the credibility of the licensing regulations and the inspection process. If special inspections are granted whenever protests arise, it sets a precedent whereby activists can repeatedly demand extraordinary reviews, rendering the legislative framework ineffective and eroding its authority.

References

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), 2012. Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-state-s-standards-of-modern-zoo-practice [Accessed 13 November 2025].

The Zoo Licensing Act
UK Government, 1981. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c.37). [online] legislation.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/37 [Accessed 13 November 2025].

Williams, T.D., Briggs, D.R., Croxall, J.P., Naito, Y. & Kato, A. (1992). Diving pattern and performance in relation to foraging ecology in the Gentoo Penguin, Pygoscelis papua. Journal of Zoology, 227(2), pp.211–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1992.tb04818.x  

Bacon, H.J. (2024). Assessment of Animal Welfare in Zoos. University of Edinburgh: Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education. Available at: https://vet.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-09/Assessment%20of%20animal%20welfare%20in%20zoos.pdf (Accessed: 13 November 2025).