Hayden Panettiere's final PETA campaign shot two weeks before her death gets posthumous release

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA: Hayden Panettiere appeared in a new PETA campaign filmed just two weeks before her death. The actress used the campaign to speak out against the confinement of dolphins and whales in marine parks and urged people to boycott facilities such as SeaWorld.

PETA shared the campaign on social media in remembrance of Panettiere, who was a longtime champion of animal rights. The organization described the campaign as one of the last acts of her life and a poignant final chapter in her advocacy for marine mammals.

Hayden Panettiere spoke out against marine parks

For the campaign, Panettiere posed in a bathtub while wearing a PETA T-shirt. She used the setting to compare the limited space of a bathtub with the conditions faced by dolphins and whales kept in tanks at marine parks.

"Imagine spending your entire life in a bathtub," she stated. "That's what it's like for dolphins and whales in tiny tanks at marine amusement parks. In their ocean homes, dolphins swim up to 60 miles a day, free to be with family and other pod members. They can dive deep, escape the hot sun, and enjoy the rain on their back. All of that is taken from them when they're confined to small tanks."

Panettiere then described the frustration and trauma she believed the animals experienced in captivity.

"Can you imagine their frustration, their trauma, their depression? All that's important and crucial for their well-being is ripped away. They swim in endless circles, day after day, year after year, in front of gawking, screaming spectators-often being poked and prodded."

PETA said the campaign urged people to stand with Panettiere and help end what it described as cruelty toward marine mammals. The organization called on people to honor her legacy by refusing to buy tickets to marine parks.

PETA remembered Hayden Panettiere's animal advocacy

PETA also highlighted Panettiere's history of advocating for marine mammals. The organization said she previously paddled into the waters of Taiji, Japan, to confront dolphin hunters during their annual hunt, a moment captured in the Oscar-winning documentary 'The Cove'.

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, PETA said, "Hayden Panettiere became a household name playing a hero on TV, but to animals, she was the real deal." The organization also called her "a kind soul" and "a fierce ally" for animals.

PETA added that Panettiere had "never stopped denouncing marine parks like SeaWorld," calling the confinement of marine mammals in concrete tanks "disgusting." The organization shared the campaign as a tribute to her life and legacy of compassion.