Black Friday bargain-hunters at a Nottinghamshire shopping centre will be tempted to grab a few discount morsels by a colony of live penguins.
This Friday between 4pm and 8pm, shoppers at the Idlewells Centre in Sutton-in-Ashfield will be greeted by a group of Humboldt penguins.
The birds have been dubbed the ‘Very Important Penguins’ and will be kept in a specially-built habitat inside a shop unit.
In addition to entertaining customers, staff at the centre say the penguins are part of a teaching experience.
The animals are being supplied by an unnamed Oxfordshire firm that runs a breeding programme. The penguins are raised to be accustomed to loud noises and people, the centre says.
But some campaign groups have questioned the move, saying it could cause unnecessary distress to the animals.
Nicola O’Brien, campaigns director for Captive Animals’ Protection Society (CAPS), said: “It’s completely inappropriate, we should be moving away from using wild animals for entertainment.
“It’s not that different than using animals for circuses.”
Chloe O’Donnell, the centre’s manager, said the animals would be well looked-after during the event.
Idlewells has also posted a response on its Facebook page to groups pressuring them to cancel the appearance.
“The adoration and respect that the carers have for the animals is apparent when you see them interact together, and we have seen this with our own eyes,” it read.
“Whilst on a surprise visit to their home in October, we met these penguins and fed them, they were very inquisitive and sociable with us, getting out of their swimming pool to investigate us, before standing at the side of us preening themselves.”
When asked about the conditions of the penguins, Ms O’Brien responded: “Just because they care for these animals, just because they use the animals in this way a lot, doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.”
She added CAPS wants businesses to “find alternative sources of entertainment that’s good for everybody, including the animals”.
She pointed towards Hamleys Toystore in London and Covent Garden stopping their use of live animals as part of their events within the last few years.
In 2013 Nottingham’s Broadmarsh shopping centre owners Intu decided against using penguins as part of an event.
