By Elizabeth Willoughby on
Passionate about stopping the slaughter of whales, dolphins, and seals, Hayden Panettiere is taking her cause out of her closet and into the American presidential race.
Panettiere is not only auctioning some of her outfits and a whale watching tour for six “through the Channel Islands to witness some of the most spectacular whale feeding grounds and have the chance to see the ever-elusive Blue Whale” to benefit the Whaleman Foundation's Save The Whales Again, she has also hit the campaign trail.
Hayden has given speeches at American universities and met with political figures to get ‘abolishing the whale hunts’ back onto the political agenda. Following meetings with American congressmen, she then approached representatives of Iceland, Japan, and Norway to challenge their archaic practices.
“Whales face increasing threats from climate change, ship strikes, entanglement in nets, and chemical and noise pollution, yet Japan, Norway and Iceland continue to kill them in increasing numbers,” Panettiere said at a press conference. “Polls show that 59% of Americans would be more willing to vote for a candidate who takes a strong stand on whaling. I want our voice to be heard.”
Although many people think whales were saved back in the ‘70s with the moratorium on commercial whaling, Whaleman Foundation’s president Jeff Pantukhoff says, “nothing could be further from the truth.” Since the moratorium went into effect, over 25,000 whales have been killed.
Pantukhoff – who is also the Director of Save the Whales Again! Campaign – said, “Over two thirds of registered voters want our government to do something about it, yet to this point, little has been done to stop the increasing slaughter. We need the United States to reflect the will of its people and lead the way in taking all necessary actions against Japan, Norway, and Iceland until the killing stops.”
Copyright © 2008 Look to the Stars
