Sea Life London Aquarium had faced mounting pressure to rehome the 14 gentoo penguins, who will now move to Sea Life Birmingham, but campaigners are disappointed that a sanctuary couldn’t be found.
Credit: Freedom for Animals
Fourteen gentoo penguins confined to the small basement of a London aquarium since 2011 will be moved to a “new, pioneering habitat” in Birmingham, following years of mounting pressure from animal welfare organizations, the media, celebrities, politicians, and the public.
Five months ago, it was confirmed that Merlin Entertainments had agreed to move the penguins from Sea Life London Aquarium, but no decision had been made as to where. According to this recent announcement, the penguins will join Merlin’s other colony of 17 penguins at the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, where a brand new facility is to be built.
Located across multiple levels, the enclosure will benefit from natural light – something the London penguins have been deprived of for the past 15 years. The facility will include land and water areas, while the pool will also be expanded. Campaigners criticized the current pool for being just 7ft deep, despite the fact that gentoo penguins typically reach depths of 600ft in the wild.
In addition, the design will provide “a dynamic and complex environment with seasonal variations both above and below the water, reflecting aspects of natural weather conditions,” as per Merlin’s press release.
Formal plans for the project will be submitted to the local authority and, subject to approval, works are expected to start next year. The penguins are due to be transferred in 2028, upon which the London exhibit will close permanently.
Discussions about the long-term future of the London colony have been ongoing since December 2025, when Merlin invited Freedom for Animals (FFA), the Born Free Foundation, and PETA, to attend its stakeholder meetings. All three animal welfare organizations had raised concerns for the penguins’ welfare, and an open letter calling for their relocation to a more suitable environment was signed by more than 70 MPs. A petition also gathered more than 50,000 signatures.
The organizations were hoping that the penguins could be moved to a sanctuary, or to a facility that offered outdoor access. However, in a recent statement the FFA said that unfortunately no feasible option was identified. Laura Walton, co-director of FFA, expressed mixed emotions about Merlin’s latest announcement.
“While the planned improvements at Sea Life Birmingham are positive, these penguins deserve far more than a lifetime behind barriers,” she said.
But Walton recognized the importance of Merlin’s pledge – made back in May – to end its breeding program. “Crucially, Merlin’s landmark commitment to end breeding means no further generations of gentoo penguins will be born into captivity at these facilities.”
FFA had earlier claimed that conservation could not be used as a legitimate reason for breeding gentoo penguins, since the species is not endangered. According to the IUCN Red List, gentoo penguins are classified as Least Concern, with a stable population of around 774,000 mature individuals.
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