Panettiere's Final PETA Campaign Released After Tragic Death

A powerful animal rights campaign featuring Hayden Panettiere was released Tuesday, August 18, just two days after the actress was found dead at age 36 in Greenville, South Carolina. The video, which Panettiere filmed in the final weeks of her life, represents her last collaboration with PETA to protest the captivity of marine mammals at theme parks worldwide.

The promotional video shows Panettiere making an impassioned plea for the welfare of whales, dolphins, and other marine life confined to small tanks at entertainment facilities across the globe.

"Can you imagine [the animals'] frustration, their trauma, their depression? All that is important and crucial for their well-being is ripped away," Panettiere said in the campaign, according to Us Weekly. "We can end this. You and me. In their ocean homes, they can be with their families, dive deep to escape the hot sun and enjoy the rain on their backs … all of that is taken from them when they are confined to small tanks."

The advertisement highlights how marine animals are forced to perform tricks for crowds without any escape from the noise and confinement of their enclosures. Panettiere concludes the video by urging viewers to boycott marine theme parks that keep dolphins in captivity.

"Vow today to never go to a marine park that keeps dolphins in extreme captivity. Together, we can end this cruelty," she said in the campaign.

PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange released a statement Tuesday honoring Panettiere's decades-long commitment to animal welfare activism. Lange referenced the actress's appearance in the 2009 documentary The Cove, which documented her confrontation with dolphin hunters off the coast of Japan.

"Hayden Panettiere became a household name playing a hero on TV, but to animals, she was the real deal," Lange said on Tuesday. "She fearlessly paddled into the blood-stained waters of Taiji, Japan to stare down dolphin hunters during their annual massacre, a moment captured in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, and never stopped denouncing marine parks like SeaWorld, calling their confinement of complex, far-ranging marine mammals in concrete tanks 'disgusting.' The world has lost a kind soul and the animals a fierce ally, and everyone at PETA holds her memory close."

Beyond her work with PETA, Panettiere served as spokesperson for the Whaleman Foundation, a Hawaii-based charity dedicated to protecting whales, dolphins, and porpoises in their natural habitats.

The Greenville Police Department confirmed Sunday, August 16, that Panettiere was found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina. The Nashville and Heroes actress was later pronounced dead from a suspected overdose.

"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," her father, Skip Panettiere, told Us Weekly in a statement. "She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen."

An autopsy completed Monday, August 17, found no signs of trauma that would have contributed to Panettiere's death, according to the Greenville County Coroner's Office. The official cause of death remains pending further investigation and additional studies.

According to Us Weekly, Panettiere's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson, 37, and his brother Zach Hickerson were present at the Greenville apartment when emergency personnel arrived Sunday. An incident report obtained by the publication indicated that Brian Hickerson provided a bag of medication that Panettiere was currently taking.

Local police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the actress's death.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).