Hayden Panettiere – a different kind of Hero

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere has been in the news recently, very much living up to the name of the show that brought her into the public eye. She tried to intercept a dolphin hunt by fisherman in Japan, showing her support for animal’s rights. With five other activists, Hayden paddled out on her surfboard to a cove in the town of Taiji in southwestern Japan on Tuesday to interfere with the annual hunt.

According to People magazine, they were intercepted on Tuesday by fishermen on a boat who told them to leave and prodded them with a pole. They were eventually forced back to shore, unable to prevent the hunt. Video footage that captured this heroic feat shows Hayden breaking down in tears as she describes what happened. “This baby stuck its head out and kind of looked as us, and the thought that the baby is no longer with us is very difficult,” she said.

Apparently, some 14,000 dolphins are killed for food in Japan every year. Local fishermen say hunting them is a Japanese custom, and outsiders have no business interfering with it. What I want to know is when will Hayden and her troop of activists gallop on a horse into a farm in Surrey to try to protect the chicken from their ill fated destiny? Not quite as glamorous as surfboarding in your bikini off the shores of Japan, I’m sure her agent would point out…