COMBS UNDER FIRE FOR USING PENGUINS AT PARTY

SEAN 'P DIDDY' COMBS has been blasted by animal activists who are furious the hip-hop mogul used penguins as props at a Miami party he hosted.

PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS (PETA) campaigners were horrified to discover six penguins floating on platforms in a swimming pool to mark the opening of the Hotel Victor in South Beach on Friday night (18FEB05) - particularly because the waddling animals are only acclimatised to cold weather.

And PETA heads have attacked Combs and the party organisers for their cruel treatment of the arctic dwellers.

Spokesman MICHAEL McGRAW tells website PAGESIX.COM, "Penguins live in very cold climates, so the heat was probably unbearable for them. They're very sensitive to temperatures, so if it was as hot as we've heard, it's a wonder they didn't collapse.

"In any case, they were likely terrified. We are now looking into whether having the penguins there broke any cruelty-to-animals laws. We're asking anyone who was at the party to call us with any information."

However, Combs' publicist ROB SHUTER has defended the rapper, insisting it wasn't his idea to bring penguins to the bash.

And a spokesman for Hotel Victor claims the penguins were actually "warm-weather" specimens from South Africa that were "trained specifically for entertainment, expositions and television commercials".