Dani Harmer has teamed up with PETA to encourage the public to boycott SeaWorld.
In a striking campaign image, the Tracy Beaker star, 32, donned a black swimsuit as she squeezed herself into a tiny fish tank to protest the captivity of orcas in cramped enclosures.
Speaking of her own visit to the marine park aged ten, the BAFTA-winning actress explained: ‘I was absolutely gobsmacked at the size of the tanks that they’re kept in. It was absolutely heart-breaking.’
Powerful: Dani Harmer, 32, has teamed up with PETA to encourage the public to boycott SeaWorld, squeezing into a fish tank in a swimsuit to protest orca captivity
In a behind-the-scenes video, Dani, who is a doting mother to daughter Avarie-Belle, four, called for a boycott of the park in between filming.
Sitting in front of a green screen, she said: ‘When I was about ten years old, I actually went to SeaWorld thinking that it was gonna be this magical place.
‘But actually, when you go there, it’s a completely different story. You could just kind of see the sadness in the whales’ eyes.’
She added: ‘I hope that I’m raising my daughter to love and respect animals and to treat them just how human beings should be treated.
Protest: In a behind-the-scenes video, Dani, who is a doting mother to daughter Avarie-Belle, four, called for a boycott of the park in between filming
‘And my 4-year-old completely understands, so I do not understand why adults do not.’
Dani concluded: ‘There is so much that we can do to help these animals. The first one’s pretty obvious: we could just stop going to these places!’
In an accompanying press release, PETA explained: ‘In nature, orcas form complex relationships, work cooperatively to find food, and traverse up to 140 miles of ocean every day.
Sad: Speaking of her own visit to the marine park aged ten, she explained,’I was absolutely gobsmacked at the size of the tanks that they’re kept in. It was absolutely heart-breaking’
‘Those at SeaWorld are housed in incompatible groups in cramped tanks, are sometimes kept in solitary confinement for months, and have even been given the drug diazepam to manage stress-induced aggressive behaviour.
‘Forty-one orcas and hundreds of other animals have died on SeaWorld’s watch – far short of their natural life expectancies.’
Dani has joined a long list of celebrities – including Gemma Collins, Amanda Holden, Sharon Osbourne, Noah Cyrus, Charlotte Crosby, Paul O’Grady, and the late Sir Roger Moore – who have teamed up with PETA to speak out against marine-mammal captivity.
MailOnline has contacted SeaWorld for comment.
Cramped: Dani concluded, ‘There is so much that we can do to help these animals. The first one’s pretty obvious: we could just stop going to these places!’
It comes after the star – who shares Avarie-Belle with boyfriend Simon Brough – told how playing Tracy Beaker once more is ‘really nice’ especially because her character has ‘lost her selfishness’ as a teen and is now a dedicated mother.
Speaking on The One Show in February alongside the series’ author Jacqueline Wilson, 75, Dani said that after herself becoming a mum, it’s lovely to see how Tracy has developed as she raises her 11-year-old daughter Jess.
Fans of the show will remember how Tracy, who lived in a care home, lived without her mother and longed for her to come and take her home.
And in the updated series, My Mum Tracy Beaker, the stroppy teen is now a doting single mother to her daughter Jess.
Speaking on the huge changes in Tracy’s life, author Jacqueline told Dani: ‘For Tracy, her biggest thing as a child was not having a mum being there for her and therefore I thought the biggest thing in her adult life would be to be that mum who was there for her daughter Jess all the time.’
Dani then reflected on her own experiences as a mother, with the star raising daughter Avarie-Belle with partner Simon.
That’s my girl: Dani reflected on her own experiences as a mother, with the star raising four-year-old daughter Avarie-Belle with partner Simon Brough (pictured in December)
She said: ‘Being a mother myself, it completely changes you. So it’s been really nice to play Tracy and see how she’s lost that selfishness that she once has and she’s all just about Jess.
‘But at the same time, she hasn’t lost herself. She’s still this fierce, strong female that she’s always been.’
Dani began playing the iconic role of Tracy Beaker in 2002 when she was just 12-years-old.
Mum’s the word: Dani recently reprised her role as Tracey Beaker and said that after herself becoming a mum, it’s lovely to see how her character has developed as she raises her 11-year-old daughter Jess
And the former Strictly star reminisced about playing Tracy when she was younger, and noted how at one point, she didn’t want to be known as Tracy Beaker after being constantly called by her alter-ego’s name.
She told Jacqueline: ‘When I was younger, I used to get called Tracy a lot more than I got called Dani. At one point I was like “oh, can I just not be Tracy, just for a minute!”.
To which Jaqueline replied: ‘It must be difficult when people do expect you to behave like Tracy, but a lovely surprise when they realise, no actually, Dani’s not a bit like that!’
Dani then noted how she’s different from her character, adding: ‘We’re kind of completely opposite actually and that’s why I love playing her.
‘I loved playing her as a kid because I got to be naughty and I really wasn’t allowed to be naughty in my house. So it was great!’
In the reboot based on Jacqueline Wilson’s 2018 book, Tracy is a single mother to daughter Jess, played by Emma Maggie Davies, as the duo try to ‘scrape by financially’.
Yet their lives are transformed by Tracy’s new rich footballer boyfriend, Sean Godfrey, played by Jordan Duvigneau.
Poor Tracy: Fans of the show will remember how Tracy, who lived in a care home, lived without her mother and longed for her to come and take her home (pictured in throwback show still)