Save the Whales Again! Campaign Spokesperson Hayden Panettiere Personally Thanks President Obama for his Bold Actions to Stop Iceland’s Whaling

WASHINGTON, September 15, 2011 -

Today, in a meeting at the White House with the President’s Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Nancy Sutley and other White House and U.S. government officials, Hayden Panettiere, the international spokesperson for The Whaleman Foundation and its Save the Whales Again! Campaign, thanked President Obama for his report to Congress that directs Federal agencies to take strong diplomatic actions to encourage Iceland to stop whaling.

The Obama Administration is citing Iceland under a domestic law called the Pelly Amendment that allows the president to act against foreign countries who defy international conservation laws and treaties.

“I am here to personally thank and applaud President Obama for his bold actions taken against Iceland today for its illegal slaughter of minke whales and fin whales which is in direct violation of the commercial whaling moratorium.” said Hayden, “And we urge the President to take similar action against Japan and Norway as well!”

Iceland, Norway, and Japan are the only three nations in the world that continue to whale commercially in 21st century and all three nations have now been certified under the Pelly Amendment by the U.S. government.  Norway has continued to whale commercially since 1986 since the moratorium went into affect. Japan resumed commercial whaling in 1987 under the guise of “scientific research” while Iceland resumed commercial whaling in 2006.

“When Hayden and I met with President Obama on the campaign trail back in January 2008, he said if he were elected president, he would take action against the whaling nations.” said Jeff Pantukhoff, founder of The Whaleman Foundation and Save the Whales Again! Campaign. “We thank the President for keeping his word and we look forward to more bold moves from his administration to end commercial whaling once and for all!”  

“Protecting these magnificent animals, and the oceans they rely on, is exactly what governments should be doing because by protecting marine life and our oceans, ultimately we are protecting ourselves,” said Hayden. “And President Obama recognizes this and has repeatedly supported innovative and conservation-minded efforts, not only at the International Whaling Commission, but including the unprecedented forward thinking demonstrated in his National Ocean Policy.”

Save the Whales Again! is a campaign of The Whaleman Foundation.

www.savethewhalesagain.org

The Whaleman Foundation is a public non-profit oceanic research, conservation and production organization dedicated to preserving and protecting dolphins, whales, and our oceans.

www.whaleman.org

Jeff Pantukhoff, +1-808-283-4465, whaleman at maui.net