Hayden PanettiereIts not often that I am compelled to write about celebrities speaking out against certain atrocities, but Hayden Panettiere, star of the NBC series Heroes, has proven that she is willing to do more than just speak out.

Along with five friends, the 18-year-old actress from Australia paddled out on a surfboard to stop a pod of dolphins from being trapped and killed in a cull in Japan. Panettiere and friends were confronted by anglers who used their boat’s propeller and a boathook to force the surfers back to the shore.

From Sky News:

surfers threatened with boathookPanettiere, who is a keen surfer and a committed marine conservationist and supporter of the campaign to save the Japan dolphins, said: “It was really frightening.

“Some of us were hit by the boathook. But in the end all we really worried about was the dolphins.

“It was so incredibly sad. We were so close to them and they were sky hopping, jumping out of the water to see us.”

The six friends immediately drove to the airport and returned to Australia to avoid arrest by Japanese authorities. It is believe that the dolphins were taken into the cove and killed.

Click here to see a video of this story along with some background info on the dolphin slaughter.

More than 22,000 dolphins are killed in Japan each year. While this number pales in comparison to the number of other animals that are killed throughout the year for food, there is a nearly global consensus that dolphins should be protected. So now is the time to act on that consensus.

How You Can Help
Stop eating fish: Many of the dolphins are rounded up and killed as a form of pest control. They are seen as competition for the sea’s depleting fish population.

Boycott the captive dolphin industry: This includes zoos, aquariums, and the military. You can also send a letter. From Save Taiji Dolphins:

The tragic secret behind the slaughter is that the US and International dolphin captivity industry is fueling the massacre. They are organizing and funding the hunts in order to buy “show-quality” dolphins from the Japanese fishermen to use in dolphin shows, “Swim-with-the-Dolphins” programs and aquariums.

Donate to Save Taiji Dolphins: Help keep there team on the ground in Japan.