Leonardo's Message for 'Animal Action Week':

Dear Friend,

Imagine a mother humpback whale and her calf as they glide safely through pristine blue water... a sea turtle riding a current through brightly colored coral reefs... or a mighty polar bear bounding through the thick snow of the frozen Arctic sea.

This is how we like to picture our ocean - clean and teeming with life - the way nature intended.

Sadly, that picture does not match reality. The truth is our ocean faces more threats than ever before.

Not a Pretty Picture

Whaling ships armed with exploding harpoons hunt whales in defiance of international treaties... plastic pollution has turned large areas of the ocean into toxic stews, choking sea turtles and countless other marine animals and sea birds... and as the icecaps continue to melt, polar bear habitats shrink, leaving them to starve or drown as they search in vain for their next meal.

It's not a pretty picture, not the way we want to envision our ocean.

So what can we do to protect our ocean and the life it sustains? How can we solve the urgent problems threatening the ocean and our environment?

Turn Awareness into Action

As a long-time supporter of IFAW, I share with them a deep concern for the health of the ocean and the environment. And like me, IFAW is committed to saving our ocean by educating the environmental leaders of tomorrow and encouraging them to act now to turn the tide on ocean threats.

This year's Animal Action Week theme, Beneath the Waves, highlights the challenges we face in protecting the ocean and all the animals that live there. It reminds us of the positive impact we can have by turning awareness into action.

What you can do to protect the ocean

To help us protect the ocean, you can start by joining me in these three easy actions:
Visit http://www.animalactionweek.org/ to learn more about Animal Action Week, the largest animal-focused educational event in the world;
Take the Plastic Bag Pledge to help combat one of the main threats to marine wildlife;
And spread the word by telling your family and friends about IFAW Animal Action Week 2008.

The health of the ocean is extremely important to me. I am hopeful that together we can begin to return our ocean to the way we like to picture it - healthy, clean, and full of life.

Please take action for animals by joining me and IFAW in celebrating Animal Action Week 2008.