MANILA, Philippines – The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) is calling for a boycott of the Manila Ocean Park.

Saying marine parks presented a distorted view of wildlife, Peta members, including one dressed like a giant fish and holding a sign that read “Save Our Schools: Boycott Aquariums,” slipped past policemen and park security officers and officials around noon Thursday to stage the protest.

“We’re urging the public to boycott all marine parks because we object to keeping sea animals in captivity,” said Peta-Asia Pacific campaigns manager Rochelle Regodon. “The only thing marine parks teach people is that it is acceptable to keep animals in captivity – bored, restricted, lonely and far from their natural homes.”

“The Manila Ocean Park has taken 300 species of fish from their natural homes and placed them in tanks, inside a hotel, a restaurant, and various other attractions, denying the fish their freedom and everything that is natural and important to them,” Peta director Jason Baker said in a statement.

Regodon said people should ask themselves what could be “gained from watching marine animals swim in endless circles in concrete tanks full of chlorinated water.”

The P1 billion Manila Ocean Park, behind the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, is a project of the Philippine Tourism Authority with Singaporean and Malaysian investors.

Another Peta campaigner, Ashley Fruno, said: “Life in a tank is literally a death sentence.”

She said marine parks can never replicate the animals’ natural habitats.

Cristina Romualdez, MOP vice president for corporate affairs, said the park aimed to promote the conservation and preservation of marine species. She said they had been working closely with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Philippines) and government agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Education.

Romualdez said they were aware of their responsibility to the public and the environment.

Park officials say international standards are being followed in the care and handling of the sea creatures.

Tina Santos, marketing manager, said round-the-clock care and proper handling ensured that the fish were in good health.

But Baker said scientific studies found that fish were intelligent animals that experienced stress and pain, “just as other animals do.”

He said places like the Manila Ocean Park took a physical toll on the captive fish.

Baker cited reports from officials of the Tokyo Sea Life Park aquarium showing that some bluefin and yellowfin tuna developed deformed faces “because of the stress of swimming in a small tank.”

Large bumps appeared on some fish’s faces while other fish’s eyes became partially dislodged, said Baker, quoting the Tokyo marine park reports.

“Aquariums make claims of education and conservation, but they rarely succeed on either count,” Baker said, adding that marine parks presented a distorted view of wildlife.

“Marine parks also contribute to the destruction of valuable ecosystems,” he said.

Santos said the ocean park’s curatorial department was manned by trained and educated marine biologists and aquarists who ensured proper acclimatization and species adjustment in the fish tanks.

“A true testament to the Manila Ocean Park’s successful operation is evident in the many natural births that have recently occurred within the oceanarium,” Santos said.

Since the marine park opened, two white tip sharks were born in the Pating Tank, four stingrays in the Pagi Tank, and several assorted hatchlings in the Bahura Tanks.

“The oceanarium has also commenced its empirical research on the development of a technology for coral propagation for reef rehabilitation in cooperation with professor Benjamin Vallejo of the University of the Philippines,” Santos said.