Heroes star Hayden Panettiere seems to be getting some inspiration from her TV character.

The 18-year-old star played real-life hero last week as she joined activists from the U.S. and Australia in paddling out on surfboards to try and reach a pod of dolphins before it was driven into a nearby cove and slaughtered.

Before the team of activists could reach the dolphins, their path was blocked by a fishing boat of angry fisherman intent on carrying on with their hunting.

The altercation was caught on video and the footage shows the fisherman using the boat’s propellers to stop the surfers and even poking at them with a boat hook, eventually forcing the team to return to shore. The video also captured an emotional Panettiere returning to shore visibly shaken by the incident as tears stream down the starlet’s face.

Panettiere was working with the Save Japan Dolphins coalition that attempts to disrupt the annual slaughter of dolphins by Japanese fisherman, who kill an estimated 23,000 of the sea creatures each year.

In parts of Japan many locals believe dolphins should be treated like fish and the hunting of the mammals is seen as culturally acceptable.






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