If you have ever had the opportunity to spend time with dolphins, you quickly realize what an intelligent and unique animal they are.
An arrest warrant has reportedly been issued in Japan for “Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere over her dolphing-saving attempt last month in the country, but the actress appears to have no fear.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon to Access Hollywood, Hayden branded the arrest warrant “defensive.”“Obviously this issue has generated defensive behavior on the part of both the Japanese Authorities and Fishermen,” she said in the statement. “I have grown up hearing – and adhering to – this phrase: ‘condemnation without investigation dooms one to everlasting ignorance.’
During a trip to Japan last month, Hayden put her life on the line trying to prevent fisherman from slaughtering a group of dolphins.
Hayden and five others paddled out on surfboards into the ocean on a pre-dawn mission to disrupt the local fishermen’s efforts to catch and kill the dolphins. However, as the group made their way towards the pod of dolphins, who appeared to be caught in the net, Hayden, a spokesperson for SaveTheWhalesAgain.org, and friends were intercepted by one of the small fishing boats.
The fishermen used the boat’s propellers to block the surfers’ way and used a long boathook to try and push them away.
The dramatic and dangerous encounter lasted for several minutes before Hayden and her group was forced to return to shore as the animals were slaughtered.
“They were so pretty. They were teddy bears in the water,” an emotional Hayden explained to Access Hollywood earlier this month. “They slowed down and started gathering in the net towards us. This little baby popped its head out and looked at us and all of us just wanted to cut them out of the nets and set them free.”
Shameful.
more self-important Americans showing up in places they don’t belong, telling the rest of the world how to live their lives.
#1 – To quote science fiction author Larry Niven, “Intelligent food animal, Hitler would have run retching.”
Hey, at least the strike isn’t keeping her from being in character.
– me –
cute, but dumb. Dolphin is tasty.
So it’s dumb to stand up for something you believe in AND try to do something about it? I’m not saying she’s right to do it.. but I dont see how its illegal.
#4 Obviously it is illegal in Japan. But she is still cute.
#1, true but in this case the cruelty is overwhelming. Her actions are justifiable, even if she is a Hollywood dogooder.
#1 – I believe she’s English.
My bad … #1 is correct, she is American. OOps .. wheres that edit button :p
#1 – Maybe, when morally superior gave you advice on how to live your life, you should listen. Now, go slaughter some sharks to make soup.
If dolphins were smart they would stop rescuing humans. What the dolphins really need are frik’n lasers on there heads … for protection.
#11 – You are thinking of sharks… 🙂
Save the dolphins. Save the world.
#12 – You’re thinking of angry sea bass.
people shouldn’t mess with other man’s food
baby cows are cute too
#10 – excellent choice of words, except… its the other way around.
The dolphin hunting, shark eating Japanese can say that to you, cowboy.
OK…….i want to applaud their enthusiasm & thoughtful emotional move, but if they really had intentions of saving the dolphins, they’d have half the group swim underwater – scuba style – & cut the freakin’ net. this plan would allow the lil’ surf group to have their photo shoot & actually save the dolphins rather then use them as martyrs.
well, whatever…good photo op…
The incident was captured at the time by Sky News:
Does she eat meat?
#18: I eat meat. So far as I know I don’t eat highly intelligent animals like great apes, whales, or dolphins.
I don’t watch Heroes, and know nothing about the actress. While she endangered herself while attempting the rescue, I can understand why she did it.
#1 – When the Japanese stop butting into other countries business where they aren’t wanted, then they can complain when Americans do.
The Japanese are the worst of the worst when it comes to species annihilation in the oceans. They refuse to stop whaling, even though they don’t need the whale products anymore, they fish with huge sea going factory’s and literally wipe out hundreds of thousands of food fish in a matter of 2 hours, they fish tuna with long lines, which kill or entangle sea birds and other species of fish, then instead of freeing the non-tuna caught, they just kill them. They are the sole reason certain species of Sea Gull’s are now endangered, and several species of shark (caught just for the fin, then the rest is thrown back), sea bass, Pacific Red snapper and all of the better tunas. I’m sorry, but I refuse to buy any product made by or in Japan.
Panettiere’s mistake was in not blowing the bastards out of the water. They corral hundreds of dolphins in a small inlet then slaughter them, why???…..because it’s tradition, they do it several times a year. The government claims these people can’t fish any other way, bullshit…..it’s because the Japanese fishing fleets around the world have depleted the food fish stocks anywhere near land where these bastards could fish. They have created their own form of hell. But….being Japanese, they will never admit they were or are wrong….they are too arrogant for that……but only God knows why they feel that way.
Floyd & Joshua = right on
I’d sink their fucking boats. When they swim to shore and get more boats, sink those too.
Unfortunately one of the traits of the Oriental races – in comparison to Occidentals – is the dogmatic disregard for the sanctity of life. Life is more precious to societies and ethnicities which value the individual over the group, and that is not something that can be changed overnight. With the increasing economic and social presence of Oriental peoples in world affairs, these clashes between cold-blooded Eastern destruction of life for profit and the innate Western respect for life will become more and more frequent, so get used to it.
And learn to scuba dive and how to drill holes in boat hulls while you’re at it.
#10 “Maybe, when morally superior gave you advice on how to live your life, you should listen.”
Your claim to moral superiority is wrong when your government is using lies to the world to start wars.
It seems to me that humans are also intelligent beings, and killing them is far worse that killing dolphins
“It seems to me that humans are also intelligent beings, and killing them is far worse that killing dolphins”
Animals are programmed to survive and they do what they have to do in order to do that. They don’t engage in cruel acts just to get sick jollies the way humans do.
Having been on the receiving end of many needless, cruel acts, I’ll take the animals over the humans any day.
— Home by myself
#24 Have you ever watched the TV programs such as Nature? Non-domesticated animals are just as capable of being, and inclined to be, inhuman as we are. Get up close and personal with a Polar Bear if you don’t believe me.
#19 I have been fairly close to several bulls/cows and dolphins. I can’t tell any difference in their cognitive ability. I have more respect for bulls generally because they KNOW what they want to, and will, do. Dolphins I’ve seen seemed easily lead, much like sheep. That’s just my experience.
I’ve met very smart and very dumb people. Intelligence is not the factor I use to decide whom I’m to eat (^:. Custom and practice is what drives the choices at my favorite markets and restaurants (McDonalds).
“Get up close and personal with a Polar Bear if you don’t believe me.”
I’d prefer not to. A polar bear would kill me and eat me on the spot because to him, I am food.
The distinction I was trying to make between animals and humans would be that a polar bear wouldn’t torture me for the sake of merely inflicting pain for no reason the way humans do to so many living things. The polar bear would eat me because he’s programmed to do that in order to survive.
That was the difference I was trying to illustrate. I’m sorry I didn’t get that across.
You are right; that was a poor example. I do believe a polar bear would enjoy tearing someone apart – even if it had a full belly, but I haven’t performed that experiment.
A better example is how Orcas “play” with a seal before killing it. I remember seeing a documentary about this, but I’m old and can’t remember the title or presenter. There are youtube/metacafe videos showing this. Wiki says Orca is a big dolphin.
So much for the hope that the sea is full of friendly, intelligent, cetaceans that respect all life.
It would seem Orcas, and dolphins by extension, can be crule. Oh the humanity!
#23 – #10 “Maybe, when morally superior gave you advice on how to live your life, you should listen.”
Your claim to moral superiority is wrong when your government is using lies to the world to start wars.
It seems to me that humans are also intelligent beings, and killing them is far worse that killing dolphins
I didn’t claim I was morally superior, but if I did, I am not my government nor is that actress… Nor do I honestly believe I am or she is morally superior to you… but when you say something stupid like you did in #1, then its easy to make that accusation.
As for Japan’s fishing industry… your guys need to get bitchslapped for the stunningly irresponsible way you manage your waters. Its a shame that a nation as great as Japan, which in so many other areas is deserving of praise and admiration, can be so primitive and near criminal in your treatment of the oceans.
All countries have a history of acts of superiority. Obviously, those Japanese fishermen have no respect for the life of dolphins. But at the same time, there are a lot of neighborhoods in America where people act like they have no respect for the life of other Americans. Americans kill more people–the most intelligent animal on the planet–than any other “civilized” country in the world. So all nations can be guilty of something.
Myself, I agree that Japan is not acting responsibly when it comes to fishing. This is because they are a consumer-based society in an extreme way, an unbalanced way. But so is the United States. How much of nature, in general, has the U.S. destroyed in the name of commerce?
So while I, too, was turned off by the destruction of those dolphins, it’s hard to point fingers at another country when every country on Earth destroys animals left & right. In fact, it’s a sport in some parts of America (and elsewhere).
When I saw this on TMZ the headline read that she was arrested. I thought, well, here’s another young F-up. Add her to the Britney, Shia LeBeouf, Lindsey Lohan, etc. list. Turns out she did something honorable and cool, and risked her life to do it. Much better than living to find the next party.
And, oh yeah, she is cute. I wonder if she digs middle-aged, middle income men? lol