Hayden Panettiere Calls On Fans To Sign Whaling Petition 10/28/08

Animal rights activist Hayden Panettiere has appealed to fans in an online video message to support a charity campaigning against commercial whaling.

The Heroes star, 19, hit headlines last year (07) when she joined animal rights activists in a protest against the slaughtering of dolphins in the historic whaling town of Taiji, Japan. Her participation prompted local authorities to issue a warrant for her arrest.

Now Panettiere is calling on her fans to sign a Whaleman Foundation petition to outlaw whale fishing and enforce the global whaling moratorium. She hopes to encourage one million people to sign the petition which she plans to present to the International Whaling Commission at a key meeting next year (09) to decide whether whales should be hunted.

In the video, she says, "I need you to go to SocialVibe.com and choose the Whaleman Foundation as your charity and adding it to your MySpace, your Facebook, your blog, whatever it is you do online. You will earn donations to the cause without even having to pay a single cent. At the same time, you'll be signing onto our petition to end this needless slaughter. Our goal is to get 1 million of you to sign up by the June 2009 meeting of the International Whaling Commission, when I will personally deliver the petition."

The video message comes just one day after Panettiere addressed a small gathering of protesters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for the Save the Whales Again campaign. She told the rally on Sunday (26Oct08): "Protecting and preserving whales and dolphins is something that we're all very passionate about."