Charlotte Crosby has staged a Houdini-style stunt in a protest against animal cruelty at SeaWorld.
Wearing a black-and-white swimsuit, Charlotte was trapped inside a huge tank of water for a new PETA ad that warns, "Orcas and Other Dolphins Suffer at Marine Parks Like SeaWorld."
In the video above, you can see the former Geordie Shore star and Just Tattoo of Us presenter address the cruelty of confining naturally far-ranging marine mammals to concrete tanks that, to them, are the size of a bathtub.
"I would feel so claustrophobic being in such a small space," she says.
"Obviously, it's massively cruel, and I just want everyone to know that …. And when people are educated on that, it may change their minds to ever stepping in a park again."
In nature, orcas and bottlenose dolphins can swim up to 140 miles and 60 miles per day, respectively. They can dive to depths well over 300 metres below the ocean's surface and maintain dynamic relationships within large social networks.
PETA claims that at SeaWorld's parks, 140 dolphins are squeezed into just seven small tanks and can't escape attacks from other frustrated, aggressive dolphins.
A recent expert report compiled by PETA US revealed that many dolphins at SeaWorld have open wounds and extensive scarring – yet trainers still ride on their backs and stand on their faces during sea-circus performances.
Charlotte, who recently split from boyfriend of two years Josh Ritchie , is part of a long list of celebrities – including Amanda Holden, Krysten Ritter, Sharon Osbourne, Noah Cyrus, Paul O'Grady, the late Sir Roger Moore, and many others – who have teamed up with PETA and its international affiliates to speak out against marine-mammal captivity.
PETA's motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to use for entertainment".
