Hayden Panettiere Fights to Save the Whales
Star of Heroes Supports Whaleman Foundation Save the Whales Petition
May 19, 2009
Hayden Panettiere isn't the first famous person to use her celebrity clout to support charities and causes, but she's one of the youngest of today's politically-minded stars. The nineteen year old singer and actress hopes to use her Heroes fame to boost the efforts of the Whaleman Foundation and its Save the Whales Again! campaign.
Hayden Panettiere: Brief TV and Movie Bio
Hayden Panettiere is part of the ensemble cast that has made TV's Heroes such a hit among hardcore science fiction and mainstream viewers alike. Long before Heroes, though, she had other roles in TV and the movies.
Her first roles in commercials began when she was less than a year old. As a child, Hayden Panettiere appeared on the soap operas One Life to Live and Guiding Light. She has also taken roles in over a dozen feature films. Panettiere's movie credits include:
- A Bug's Life
- The Object of My Affection
- Remember the Titans
- Bring It On: All or Nothing
- Tiger Cruise
- Ice Princess
- Raising Helen
- Fireflies in the Garden
Hayden Panettiere Fights to Save the Whales
Panettiere has been outspoken in her support of environmental groups that protect whales and dolphins since 2007, when she travelled to Japan as part of a Sea Shepherd initiative to protest the annual Japanese dolphin hunt. Hayden was involved in an altercation between American activists and Japanese fishermen – for which she received the "Compassion in Action" award from PETA in November 2007.
In early 2008, she continued her campaign for the whales by writing to the Norwegian and Japanese ambassadors in the U.S. and protesting the whales.
Hayden Panettiere's Involvement with the Whaleman Foundation and SaveTheWhalesAgain.com
Hayden Panettiere's involvement with SaveTheWhalesAgain.com and Whaleman began later in 2008, when she took part in a fundraiser to support the Whaleman Foundation's consciousness-raising efforts about the impact of whale and dolphin hunting worldwide.
Hayden has since become the face of SaveTheWhalesAgain.com, appearing in video and online campaigns to promote awareness and raise support to stop the commercial killing of dolphins and whales. "Do you think that the whales have been saved?" Hayden asks in one video clip. "Think again. Today, dolphins and whales face more threats than ever from pollution, loss of habitat, and continuing and expanding whaling. Please, join the fight…. stop this cruel and needless slaughter."
Hayden Panettiere is presently campaigning for one million signatures on a petition against whale hunting by fishers from Japan, Norway, and Iceland. This petition will be presented to the International Whaling Commission at a meeting in late June, 2009.
Reference
Hayden Panettiere and The Whaleman Foundation Petition
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