Actor and animal activist Pamela Anderson has written to Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton demanding he helps protect the pets of asylum seekers being held in detention on Manus Island.
The former Baywatch star and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokeswoman wants Mr Dutton to launch an inquiry into claims that one asylum seeker had their dog, Foxy, thrown from a moving bus by a guard while detainees were moved from the island's main detention facility to alternative accommodation last month.
"Animals feel pain, stress, and fear just as we do, and such callous abuse is unacceptable and threatens everyone in your care on Manus," the Canadian actress wrote in a letter emailed to Mr Dutton.
"Just as we all love the cats and dogs who share our homes, members of the Manus Island refugee community care deeply for their animal companions and share with them the precious few resources that they have," she added.
Pamela Anderson's letter to Peter Dutton. Source: PETA
"Displaced people often form close bonds with animals, who provide unconditional love and hope. Of all the things that refugees endure, emotional trauma is often the hardest to bear."
The actor was responding to a post from The Combined Refugee Action Group that alleged Foxy was thrown from a bus.
"Manus refugee carried Foxy to the bus. Cradled dog in his arms, risked life to save Foxy. Guard allowed him (sic) carry dog on bus but threw Foxy from bus at speed," the post alleges.
"Man now mentally unwell," the post added.
Comment was being sought from Mr Dutton.
Three hundred asylum seekers were moved from the main detention facility on Manus in late November after a tense three-week stand-off which saw most of the men refusing to leave for new accommodation facilities elsewhere on the island because they feared they were unsafe and lacked proper health services.
The men were finally moved to the new facilities by Papua New Guinea police and immigration officers bearing metal batons.
Ms Anderson said she held "grave concerns" about the "appalling" treatment the asylum seekers and their pets were receiving while being detained by Australia on Manus.
"The prolonged detainment of these people is appalling, but recent reporting from the camps indicates a new level of violence and suffering," the actress said.
Ms Anderson, who starred alongside David Hasselhoff in the hit TV show Baywatch in the 1990s, has long been a supporter of PETA.
She famously stripped off for the group 20 years ago to help its campaign against clothing made out of animal fur.
More recently she's also lent her support to the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who has sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden where he was wanted for questioning over sexually assault allegations.
He has remained in the embassy despite Swedish authorities dropping their inquiries.
"I love Julian. He's one of the most interesting people I have ever met," Anderson told a UK TV show in September.
