As we reported here just a few days ago Hayden Panettiere recently joined the Surfers For Cetaceans to protest the slaughter of whales in Japan.

The story just got a alot more interesting when the protesters had a confrontation with the Japanese fishermen.  The group paddled out into the harbour in an attempt to form a "prayer circle" in the harbour and form a human blockade to protect the dolphins.  Their plans were foiled by the crafty fishermen, who used their boat's propellors to block the surfers from making progress.

The result of all this?  The down side is we have lots of dead dolphins and 30 very sad protesters.  The up side is that the media coverage has brought worldwide attention to this barbaric and ridiculous massacre.

Hayden Panettiere held back tears in a recent interview:

"One little baby dolphin stuck his head out and kinda looked at me and the thought that it's no longer with us is really hard to take."

"It's innocence being slaughtered, it's innocence being taken away."

"Dolphins and whales are probably one of the friendliest animals on the face of this planet."

» The Daily Mail (UK)