Lulu the green sea turtle

A victim of the aquarium industry

Lulu the Green Sea turtle has been in captivity for almost her entire life, 82 years.

In 1940, while still a tiny turtle hatchling, it is believed she was stolen from the vast ocean by a TV advertising agency to appear in an advert for soap.

Since then she has lived in three aquariums and been put on display for human entertainment. Each tank so incredibly small and barren compared to the vast oceans she was born to roam.

She spent her first 30 years at London Zoo. She was then transported to the Blackpool Tower aquarium where she lived for another 30 years. Eventually she was given a little more space to swim in Brighton Sea Life centre but for a huge turtle it was still pitiful.

Life in captivity just doesn’t compare to the wild.

Green turtles are the second largest species of turtle and can grow up to four foot in length. They live very long lives and can lay thousands of eggs. How can a man-made tank ever provide for such a magnificent animal?

In the wild she would have undergone long migrations for hundreds, even thousands of miles between her feeding grounds and the beaches where she would have lain eggs. She would have used her incredible adaptations to navigate these vast distances and always be able to find her way back to the same beach every season. In captivity she circles the same restricted space again and again with no chance to explore her natural world.

Lulu remains in a Brighton tank. I am sure you can agree this is not an extraordinary life. It is a life of complete limitation. She is one of the oldest, biggest turtles in captivity. She will never make it back to the wild. This is an absolute tragedy.

We shine a light on Lulu.

Sign the petition created by Close Sealife to free Lulu to a sanctuary. Find out more on our take action page.

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