DUBAI: Animal rights activists across the Middle East are outraged over the introduction of penguins into Dubai's indoor SkiDubai facility. A number of young activists told Bikyamasr.com on Wednesday that the animals “should be in their natural habitat and not exploited in the desert.” The penguins, 10 King penguins, were born in captivity in San Antonio's SeaWorld and have been flown to Dubai to be on display as the new Snow Penguins exhibit at the facility, which allows residents and visitors to ski year-round in the extreme desert heat. The new exhibit will officially open on February 5. Fahad al-Lawati, manager commercial and communications for Majid al-Futtaim, told Gulf News that the new attraction will offer “a unique experience” to visitors in the coming years. But activists, such as online animal rights supporter Reham Abdel-Majid, think differently, condemning the move and saying it will continue to perpetuate the idea that animals can, and should, be in captivity. “What this does is waste precious power on a project that shouldn't be here to begin with. Now add in animals, which have been in captivity their whole life and we are teaching the younger generation that we can do whatever they want,” she said. She told Bikyamasr.com that she plans on writing a letter to the Dubai municipal government calling on them to remove the penguin exhibit. “I doubt it will do much, but it is the least we can do as supporters of a cruelty-free lifestyle,” she added. The facility said that some 20 public penguin encounters will be scheduled daily where visitors would be given the opportunity to have time and underwater viewing of the birds swimming. Visitors at all times will be accompanied by staff. Personal cameras will not be allowed into the enclosure, SkiDubai said. Tom Scheffer, SkiDubai operations manager, said in comments published by Gulf News that “We're the first in the Middle East to have King penguins in our colony.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/BHfE2 Tags: Dubai, featured, Penguins, SkiDubai Section: Animals, Latest News, United Arab Emirates
