Hayden Panettiere’s Powerful New PETA Video Goes Viral After Her Tragic Death – Watch Her Important Message About Captive Dolphins
Hayden Panettiere brought awareness to so much during her life.
For decades Hayden used her voice to advocate for animal rights, and one of her final acts was filming a powerful ad to raise anti-captivity awareness for dolphins living in marine parks.
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Following the shocking news of the 36-year-old actress’ death, PETA released her last work with them on YouTube, captioning the now viral video:
“Just weeks before Hayden Panettiere’s passing, the actor crammed herself into a bathtub for a raw new campaign protesting marine parks like SeaWorld.”
Watch for yourself (below):
The message is clear. Hayden concludes the PSA urging watchers to “vow today to never go to a marine park that keeps dolphins in extreme captivity. Together, we can end this cruelty.”
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In addition to sharing her video on their social channels, PETA paid tribute to all her great work for our marine friends on their website, saying in a statement:
“Hayden Panettiere became a household name playing a hero on TV, but in real life, she was a hero to animals.
Just weeks before her passing, the actor and Golden Globe nominee crammed herself into a bathtub for a raw new campaign protesting marine parks like SeaWorld, which sentence dolphins to a lifetime of suffering and loneliness in captivity.
Today, in tribute to Panettiere’s life and legacy of compassion, PETA is sharing the ad and moving video encouraging everyone to honor her memory by refusing to buy a ticket to any facility that condemns these remarkable animals to a tiny concrete tank.”
Continuing their tribute to the Heroes star, they explained:
“The campaign marks a poignant final chapter in Panettiere’s fierce advocacy for marine mammals, which grabbed headlines around the world in 2007, when the then-18-year-old paddled into the blood-stained waters of Taiji, Japan, and confronted dolphin hunters during an annual slaughter—a moment captured in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove.
In 2015, she signed a ‘friend of the court’ brief supporting the National Marine Fisheries Service’s denial of a permit for the Georgia Aquarium to import 18 wild-caught beluga whales from Russia. In 2019, Panettiere appealed to President Vladimir Putin to release nearly 100 belugas and orcas slated for transfer to marine parks. The Russian government returned the cetaceans to the sea and banned their capture the same year.
Across the U.S., hundreds of dolphins are forced to live in mini pools or shallow lagoons, where they perform meaningless tricks or participate in tourist encounters, in which they are repeatedly touched and harassed by strangers who have invaded the only space they have, with no way to escape. Many were abducted from their ocean homes and stolen from their families decades ago, while others were born in captivity and have never experienced the joy of swimming in the open ocean.
Panettiere’s compassion didn’t stop at marine animals. She was a cheerleader for other species, including when she halted filming on the set of Heroes to save a flock of birds from a crewmember blasting them with a leaf blower. She was never afraid to call out cruelty wherever she witnessed it, and we hope her legions of fans will honor her legacy by refusing to be silent when animals are suffering.”
They finished the poignant message writing:
“The world has lost a kind soul and the animals a fierce ally, and everyone at PETA holds her memory close.”
Per their website, PETA’s mission statement is that “animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.”
Hayden aligned with these values, and we know her legacy will include influencing people to think twice about supporting any business that profits off captive marine animals for years to come.
Rest in peace, Hayden.
[Image via EricaPage/NewportCoastalAdventure/MEGA/WENN]