Penguins at Hamleys

Hadn't heard of this at all! TV news is all WikiLeaks, Royal Wedding and snow!

Would be interested to see what they're planning on keeping them in.

I love the comment at the bottom:

This will be fun for the penguins when it becomes fun for humans to swim in a freezing cold pool, in a zoo enclosure, whilst being fed by a zoo employee and being gawped at by loads of penguins standing around the edge oohing and aahing at the humans every move!

Until then, it is wrong!!
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Penguins of course being famous for their dislike of cold water...
 
"According to the RSPCA, it is not against the law to have the arctic animals in a heated shop"

Is anyone going to tell them they've got the wrong pole?
 
maybe they are coming from Amazing Animals? they have had animals at the store before.
 
I'm just phoned to complain, I think it is so inappropriate. Regardless of how well they will be cared for, this simply isn't an appropriate context for the display of live animals.

Living Coasts have set up this Facebook page called 'Ten Reasons why Hamleys shouldn't use real penguins'
 
I am guessing they are humbolts or black foots? maybe they are the poor things paul o'grady had perading round his tea time show set if you want to see penguins you go to london zoo not a flaming toy shop,they should be selling World wildlife fund or london zoo penguin adoption kits insted!
 
Being Devil's Advocate:

Just imagine loads of noisy people parading past only a few feet from the penguins .....sounds not that different to Living Coasts to me:D

To be fair I don't know how the birds will be displayed and will withhold any opinion (if I have enough knowledge to form one) until I do. It seems unfair jumping to conclusions at this point.

I'm sure the welfare of the birds will be properly catered for as it's likely they're a commercial asset of the supplier who will want to ensure they're available for future use.

The RSPCA often lack sufficient knowledge to adequately comment, advise or care for exotics (that's not taking anything away from the usually great work they do for domestic pets) -in this instance they're saying the Penguins are an artic species when it's very unlikley (if they're Humboldt's) they'd even be an Antartcic species!
 
Shorts said:
Being Devil's Advocate:

Just imagine loads of noisy people parading past only a few feet from the penguins .....sounds not that different to Living Coasts to me:D

To be fair I don't know how the birds will be displayed and will withhold any opinion (if I have enough knowledge to form one) until I do. It seems unfair jumping to conclusions at this point.

I'm sure the welfare of the birds will be properly catered for as it's likely they're a commercial asset of the supplier who will want to ensure they're available for future use.

The RSPCA often lack sufficient knowledge to adequately comment, advise or care for exotics (that's not taking anything away from the usually great work they do for domestic pets) -in this instance they're saying the Penguins are an artic species when it's very unlikley (if they're Humboldt's) they'd even be an Antartcic species!
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All good points, well made. I'm also not going to comment without knowing how they'll be displayed. If the animals are from a commercial supplier they're likely to be of more-than-usual resilience to noise and disturbance - it's not as if they're coming straight from the 'Arctic' (inverted commas intentional!).
 
Shorts said:
Being Devil's Advocate:

Just imagine loads of noisy people parading past only a few feet from the penguins .....sounds not that different to Living Coasts to me:D

To be fair I don't know how the birds will be displayed and will withhold any opinion (if I have enough knowledge to form one) until I do. It seems unfair jumping to conclusions at this point.

I'm sure the welfare of the birds will be properly catered for as it's likely they're a commercial asset of the supplier who will want to ensure they're available for future use.

The RSPCA often lack sufficient knowledge to adequately comment, advise or care for exotics (that's not taking anything away from the usually great work they do for domestic pets) -in this instance they're saying the Penguins are an artic species when it's very unlikley (if they're Humboldt's) they'd even be an Antartcic species!
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I do think that even if they are displayed in a "sympathetic" way, having them inside a warm shop in an environment unfamiliar to them will be stressful for them. And the argument that it will be educational for the children is a lot of hogwash as to why they are doing it, especially as in saying they are from the "Arctic", they have already failed to do any basic research on the species. All it will do will encourage children to think that penguins are like little pets that they can take home and then Hamleys will be hoping that they can sell a few toy penguins to them instead.

If they really wanted to educate they should have had a WWF stand where they could sell penguin adoptions pack and where someone who knows what they're talking about could tell the children and their parents the factors affecting wild penguins and give them the basic facts about penguins too.
 
cracker said:
I do think that even if they are displayed in a "sympathetic" way, having them inside a warm shop in an environment unfamiliar to them will be stressful for them. And the argument that it will be educational for the children is a lot of hogwash as to why they are doing it, especially as in saying they are from the "Arctic", they have already failed to do any basic research on the species. All it will do will encourage children to think that penguins are like little pets that they can take home and then Hamleys will be hoping that they can sell a few toy penguins to them instead.

If they really wanted to educate they should have had a WWF stand where they could sell penguin adoptions pack and where someone who knows what they're talking about could tell the children and their parents the factors affecting wild penguins and give them the basic facts about penguins too.
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The 'Arctic' reference seems to just be from the Sky News journalist, or possibly to have come from the RSCPA; here it is in context:

According to the RSPCA, it is not against the law to have the arctic animals in a heated shop.

"If the animals are cared for as they should be and their needs are met, it's not illegal," a spokeswoman for the RSPCA said.

"But clearly extra care has to be taken in making sure animals are kept in a suitable environment and aren't caused unnecessary stress."
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I've not seen Hamley's claim they are Arctic animals.
 
For me it's an issue of context. Having living animals in a toy shop setting cannnot be a suitable setting for education or serious engagement. Children should have respect and awe for the living world and I just don't think it's possible here, regardless of the levels of husbandry. That was the essense of my complaint.
 
cracker said:
...where someone who knows what they're talking about could tell the children and their parents the factors affecting wild penguins and give them the basic facts about penguins too.
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There will be handlers there who know 'what they are talking about and can educate children and their parents about the factors affecting wild penguins and give them basic facts about penguins too.' Whats more, having had hands on experience with penguins they can probably tell a lot more than some WWF representative who may never have even seen a penguin. A living animal will always inspire far more than a picture ever will.
 
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A lot of the comment, here and elsewhere, mirrors the sort of cant that the anti zoo lobby produce. Here's what Born Free have to say: "The stress of transportation and being surrounded by hordes of people in an unnatural environment is one reason to call this stunt off." Hmmm. If they weren't attacking this rather jolly sounding event, those words could be turned a few miles north as an attack on what London Zoo is doing with its new penguin pool. On the basis that my enemy's enemy is my friend, I think I'd be rather more sympathetic to this than many here. After all, being one of a "horde of people" "gawping" at animals in "unnatural environments" is one of the things I enjoy most in the world.
 
The reindeer are in the type of pen I see baby farm animals at my farm in. Nowhere near big enough for reindeer-glad they didn't get penguins as goodness know what theyr'e conditions would be like. Having seen reindeer in the Cairngorms with hundreds? of acres of natural habitat this 'publicity stunt' makes me feel angry.
 
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