Tom Daley transformed by body paint ahead of Shark Week

The clip shows Tom being painted as a shark to raise awareness of how important the creatures are to the ocean’s natural ecosystem but PETA has criticised the Olympian for working with SeaWorld on the project.

Olympic diver Tom Daley has come under fire from fans after he teamed up with SeaWorld for Shark Week.

The athlete was painted from head to toe to create the striking piece of body art depicting the ocean’s top predator. The painting took four hours to complete. “We commend Tom’s desire to save sharks and will be in touch with him to urge him to support conservation efforts in that really assist protect fish instead of corporations in that exploit animals for profit”.

But the campaign hasn’t been warmly received by detractors of SeaWorld, most notably the animal rights organisation PETA who, when they’re not killing 81% of the animals they shelter or trying to get women naked, actually sometimes give a shit about animals.

Ahead of Shark Week, which starts next month, and in line with the diver’s partnership with SeaWorld, Daley posted a video of himself being visually transformed into a shark using makeup and lighting. They keep fish populations balanced and protect habitats.

‘Sharks play a vital role to the health of the ocean, ‘ he added. Tom Daley wants people to change their perceptions about sharks.

“The greatest threat to sharks comes from humans and millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins and as commercial fishing bycatch”.