Penguin ‘protest march’ against Trump’s tariffs coming this week

Despite a 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs, economic turmoil persists following Donald Trump’s antics, and the penguins aren’t happy about it.  

In case you missed it, Trump somehow managed to slap 10 per cent tariffs on an Australian territory with no human inhabitants: the Heard and McDonald Islands, home to penguins and seals.  

Just penguins and seals.   

As reported last week, the penguins from the islands have mounted a resistance in the form of a social media account and a trending hashtag #PenguinsAgainstTrump.  

Now, not willing to stop flipping the bird in Trump’s direction, a new phase of the resistance begins. A non-profit has declared that penguins will be having a “protest march” on Wednesday 16 April against Trump’s tariffs. 

There are some sentences you don’t expect to write, but there we are. It's come to this and we're here for it.

To prove they’re very serious, Penguins International - an organisation dedicated to penguin conservation and research, who consider penguins the “true sentinels of the health of our planet” - have released this campaign video:  

Penguins International will livestream the Antarctic penguins’ annual migration from the ocean to their breeding grounds, calling the event the ‘Protest March of the Penguins’ - a cheeky reference to the stunning 2005 French documentary by Luc Jacquet. 

David Shutt, the non-profit’s executive director, said: “Wild penguins, like those that inhabit the Heard and McDonald Islands, face threats that are far more real than the tariffs that were imposed. Today, nine of the 18 species of penguins that exist are either listed as vulnerable or endangered of becoming extinct.” 

He added: “We’re grateful to be able to use the unexpected attention on the Antarctic penguins to shine a light on the species as a whole, and to turn this news story into an opportunity to protect them for the greater good of the planet.” 

Ice-solutely amazing.  

Apologies. We'll do better.

The protest march will be livestreamed on the non-profit’s YouTube channel on Wednesday 16 April. Oh, and a timely reminder while we're at it: World Penguin Day is on 25 April.

Additional sources • Independent