AN ANIMAL rights campaigner last night condemned plans for a sea life centre in Southport, saying it could attract protesters from around the country. Tony Moore of Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe (FAACE), said the aquarium, which could form part of the resort's £50m seafront regeneration, would force marine life out of its natural habitat. Mr Moore said the centre would experience the same sorts of animal rights pickets that dogged Southport Zoo, which closed last year. He said: "There is no justification for an aquarium, when we have such wonderful video footage of marine life. "Aquariums take many of their animals out of the wild and there is a constant need to replace them. "Not only does this bring stress to the animals, surely this must be the least appealing out of all the proposed uses of the site" Builders are believed to be interested in plans for the complex, set to rival Ellesmere Port's Blue Planet, and are ready to submit their bids to Sefton Council. If the plans go ahead, the aquarium would be built in the Ocean Plaza entertainment park. Mr Moore said that although the proposals were in the early stages, he felt it necessary to start campaigning against them now. He added: "It would be like a peep show. I thought I had better do something about it now before it really gets going, because I would not want something like this on my own doorstep. "I have already written to all three party leaders on Sefton Council. I do not want it to get to the point where they accept it." John Pugh, Lib Dem MP for Southport, has welcomed the proposals and said he did not believe an aquarium would necessarily prove cruel to sea creatures. He said: "It is a bit premature to come to a judgment when one doesn't know what kind of environment the marine life would be kept in. "Some marine life can be kept in an aquarium quite well without any accusations of stress or abuse involved. "There are lots of aquariums up and down the country that don't get picketed, simply because they are well run and managed and they don't attract any criticism from the RSPCA or other bodies, and they perform an enormous part in the tourism industry." A Sefton Council spokesman said more proposals were to be considered before any decision was taken. The Southport Seafront Action Plan includes building a water park, an exhibition hall and modernising the pier, was put on hold last year when the Northwest Development Agency ran into financial problems. grahamdavies@dailypost.co.uk | 
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