Penguin home 'is a Victorian relic of abject animal abuse'

Packham blasts 'dingy' aquarium enclosure

- By Steph Spyro ENVIRONMENT EDITOR

CHRIS Packham is among the celebrities who will lead a protest today demanding the freedom of penguins trapped in a basement enclosure without fresh air or daylight.

The TV naturalist will be joined by former Undertones star Feargal Sharkey and green industrialist Dale Vince outside Sea Life London Aquarium, on the south bank of the Thames.

Speaking ahead of the 10.30am demonstration, Mr Packham, 64, pictured inset, said: “The vastness of Antarctica and the southern islands versus a perpetually dingy underground bunker beside the Thames; this is no place for penguins. This ghastly situation is a Victorian relic of abject animal abuse.

“Daylight! Daylight! These poor birds have never seen the sun. It’s obscene.”