Amanda Holden has locked herself up in central London for an important animal rights campaign.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge, 53, has been part of a growing number of celebrities rallying against the mistreatment of animals in areas such as zoos. To illustrate the tight-squeeze nature of their enclosures, several famous faces have locked themselves in a cage to highlight the lack of movement.
Among those who have already taken on the challenge are former sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher and actress Jenny Seagrove. The celebs underwent the tough conditions by being confined in a small cage in Leicester Square in central London.
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The demonstrations were arranged by charity Born Free, which highlights the importance for animals to have wide open spaces to be in their natural habitat. Specifically, the wildlife agency uses high-profile campaigns to show how animals such as cheetahs, lions and tigers are put into “inadequate living spaces”, as well as odd groupings with other animals.
(Image: PA)
Speaking about the campaign, Amanda told the Press Association news agency that she was horrified at what she sees continuing in zoos across the UK and Europe. “I still can’t believe in this day and age, with the empathy that we have and the causes that we have, that we’re still seeing caged big cats – it’s nuts,” she said.
“I’m all about conservation, so that’s very important, but I think seeing zoos still containing beautiful wild creatures that should be running free needs to stop,” the Heart Radio presenter added. “I understand that there’s an educational side, that people learn from observing these beautiful creatures, but their captivity is not a good thing to be teaching or educating our children; there’s a million other ways that we can study animals.”
(Image: PA)
Hoping to appeal to passers by, Amanda encouraged those who saw her to start the conversation by talking to local animal conservationists. She also urged people who feel passionate about animal rights to bring up the issue with zoos themselves, as well as teaching their kids about animals being able to live in the wild.
The cage the Wild at Heart star was enclosed in featured a chilling sign that gave more information on humans as if they were a zoo animal. After stepping out of the cage, Amanda admitted that she “didn’t feel great”, adding that she likes being able to do what she wants because she is a “free woman”.
(Image: Getty Images)
It comes after a report released by the charity claimed that some 3,000 big cats such as tigers and lions continue to remain in zoos. They added that the exhibits that the animals feature in are a minute fraction of the freedom they usually have in their ranges in the wild, which severely impacts their lives.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
