An event in which members of the public could ice-skate alongside penguins has been cancelled following a backlash by animal rights campaigners.
Queens Skate Dine Bowl in Bayswater offered customers the opportunity to ice-skate alongside five Humboldt penguins in aid of Penguin Awareness Day.
Under the plans, the penguins were set to be placed in hip-height pens on the ice rink.
The event drew criticism online with animal rights groups PETA and the Born Free Foundation calling for it to be cancelled.
On Saturday, Queens Skate Dine Bowl announced it was cancelling the event.
A statement on the venue’s Twitter page said: “Sadly due to the concerns raised by various animal protection groups including PETA & Freedom for Animals – we have had to cancel the event in the interests of the penguins & our guests.
“We thank those who shared our excitement about this event – your tickets will be refunded in the next 48 hours.”
It claimed that the event was “intended as a non-profit, educational and accessible experience” with the aim of increasing awareness and education about this beloved engaged sea-bird, with moneys to be raised for BirdLife international.
The Born Free Foundation was among a number of animal rights groups to criticise the event.
It said: “Ice skating with live penguins is a terrible, exploitative idea, even if profits go to charity. The best thing for Penguin Awareness Day is to cancel the event.”
While PETA said: “Using penguins to draw in paying customers is cruel and unthinking. Humboldt penguins belong in cold water and on the rocky islands off the coast of South America, not on a skating rink in London.”
