The Baywatch series star actress Pamela Anderson has written an open letter to the Russian President, urging him to use his authority over Russian territorial waters to block the passage of a cargo ship carrying 1,700 tonnes of fin whale meat to Japan, Russia Today reports.
In a “personal request” letter to Vladimir Putin, Anderson writes that out of their “mutual love for animals and a deep respect for nature,” Putin should step in and block the “illegal” cargo of St. Kitt’s-registered vessel Winter Bay from sailing from Iceland through the Northeast Passage to Japan.
Russian waters are allegedly the only way to get the meat to Japan as according to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Winter Bay will not risk passing through the Suez or Panama canals because of international laws and logistic restrictions concerning whale meat.
The actress considers the Russian president as the last beacon of hope to stop the vessel, currently docked in Norway and awaiting the clearance of the Arctic route.
“President Putin, you can stop this illegal transit by forbidding this vessel from carrying a cargo of endangered Fin whale meat through Russian waters to Japan,” Anderson wrote as she urged Putin to consider the matter.
“Your decision could put an end to the needless slaughter of endangered whales by Iceland,” the actress wrote.