25th April 2024 It's World Penguin Day! Here at Freedom for Animals we're marking the occassion by shining a light on the plight of penguins in captivity. You may have read our blog post yesterday, detailing the ways in which penguins are treated like props and gimmicks across the entertainment industry, including in zoos and aquariums. You may also be aware of our current campaign demanding that aquarium giant Sea Life, and its parent company Merlin Entertainments, release the penguins they hold captive. The ambassadors in this campaign are a colony of fifteen gentoo penguins currently k ..read more

24th April 2024 Scrambling over sunbathing sea lions to get to the sea, a gentoo penguin torpedoes into the waves, diving below to search for snacks like fish, shrimp or squid. Meanwhile, buried in a stark underground box at Sea Life London Aquarium, a penguin stands and stares at the streams of humans passing by. Then they dive into a pool but draw back after a few feet so as not to smack their head on the bottom.  A lifetime of captivity has taught this penguin that diving six-seven feet is as deep as they can go, despite depths of up 600 feet being quite normal in the wild. This is the ..read more

The clock is ticking until our Spring Raffle live draw - grab your tickets now!!  ⏰ ⏰ The sun is beginning to shine once again, the flowers bursting open, and the wildlife celebrating! This Spring, help us to fight for animals in captivity, and be in with the chance to win some gorgeous prizes from brilliant small businesses and ethical companies. All donations raised from our Spring Raffle will help to fund our campaigns to end the captivity of animals in zoos, circuses and other cruel entertainment industries. Animals belong in the wild. Together, let's help achieve this.  How it w ..read more

Zoo2U have submitted updated plans to try and gain planning permission for a new zoo that has already been refused TWICE by Cheshire East Council. You can read more about their plans to expand the mobile zoo business and lock more animals in cages HERE! The last time we took collective action to object to this proposal, we won! So now, we need your help to achieve victory again, by ensuring these exploitative plans cannot go ahead.    We are now calling on our wonderful supporters to send their objections for application 24/1108C to Cheshire East Council by using their online fo ..read more

Back in March 2023 we brought you the great news that a mobile zoo named Zoo2U in Cheshire, had their planning permission to build a new zoo denied!  But the fight is not over - as this zoo has resubmitted plans to Cheshire East council, in the hopes they can now get the plans approved.  Zoo2U are wanting to expand their mobile zoo business (which was initially run from their private house) on land owned by Bidlea Dairy Farm. They have already flouted the legal planning process by building many of the new enclosures already, even over-confidently purchasing more animals as part of th ..read more

29th March 2024 Watch the fifth episode of our shocking new investigation into Cumbria Safari Zoo - formally known as South Lakes Zoo - now! YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeQZCKDSMiM Watch previous episodes and read more into why we carried out this investigation here! Throughout 2023, we deployed an undercover investigator to gain access into the zoo as a volunteer, to gather behind the scenes evidence and uncover the true reality for the animals held captive there.  We hope that by taking this important step and sharing our devastating findings publicly, the council will ..read more

Another bull elephant has been shipped over to Noah’s Ark Zoo in Bristol from a zoo in Germany.  The thirteen year old male, called Uli, has joined three other male elephants already held captive at the zoo; Shaka, Janu, and nine year old Sutton. Sutton is an individual who we have shared the story of previously, as he was recently separated from his mother, Five, who lives at West Midlands Safari Park.  This devastating separation left Five completely alone, and broke a special bond between the mother and son that would have caused deep trauma to the pair. Trauma that they will feel ..read more

30th March 2024  Guest blog by an ex-zookeeper. Their identity is not disclosed to protect anonymity.  My Love For Animals For as long as I can remember I’ve had a fascination with wildlife, with a specific love for monkeys and apes.  It should come as no surprise that myself and many other people are in awe of our fellow primate cousins. Because after all, they are our family.  We are descended from common ancestors, and therefore share a considerable amount of our DNA with other primates, especially with our ape cousins. Around 98% of our DNA is shared with the likes of c ..read more

Freedom for Animals is urging its supporters and the public to actively oppose and report live hatching projects being planned in schools and communities. Join us to demand that hatching projects should no longer be promoted as a teaching method. Live hatching projects are becoming increasingly popular in UK classrooms. Fertilised eggs are taken from mothers to be incubated and hatched in classrooms and sold as an ‘educational’ experience. However, the reality is that their educational value is minimal and the exploitation of chicks used for these projects is inexcusable and not justifiable ..read more

27th March 2024 Watch the third episode of our shocking new investigation into Cumbria Safari Zoo - formally known as South Lakes Zoo - now! YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i6bqfhnd0g Watch previous episodes and read more into why we carried out this investigation here! Throughout 2023, we deployed an undercover investigator to gain access into the zoo as a volunteer, to gather behind the scenes evidence and uncover the true reality for the animals held captive there.  We hope that by taking this important step and sharing our devastating findings publicly, the council will ..read more