Heroes star Hayden Panettiere broke down in tears as she recalled her recent dolphin protest in her first TV interview since the Japanese slaughter.

The actress was caught sobbing by a local news crew after witnessing Japanese fishermen killing porpoises in Osaka. The footage has since appeared all over the globe.

It shows Panettiere and her protestor pals swimming out on surfboards in an attempt to stop fishermen from slaughtering hundreds of dolphins.

The actress was almost stabbed by fishing hooks aimed at the protestors, but felt compelled to show her opposition to the mass killing, which turned the sea red with blood.

Speaking exclusively on news show Access Hollywood on Friday (02Nov07), the

18 year old said, "It was painful. It was something that you just look down and said, `Anyone who could do that to an animal like that, there's gotta be something wrong.'

"It was very possible for us to get hurt, it was very possible for us to be detained by the police. We paddled out there and the fear just went away.

"All of us so wanted to go over there with knives and cut them (dolphins) out of the nets and obviously set them free. I'd probably in a jail right now in Japan if I did (that)."

The actress and her fellow protestors were attacked in the water by the fishermen, and she came close to a serious accident when a small boat's propeller blade almost struck her foot.

She added, "I had to actually take my foot out of the water... I kind of almost wanted them to hit me because it would have made that much more of an impact."

 

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