Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere is wanted by police in Japan after protesting against their whaling policy last month.

The 18-year-old actress, who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet, told E! News: “I learned today that I have an arrest warrant out for me in Japan because of what I did for Save The Whales.”

Access Hollywood quotes her as adding: “Obviously this issue has generated defensive behaviour on the part of both the Japanese authorities and fishermen. We can no longer hide [behind] out-dated, senseless cultural traditions and lazy, bad habits that are resulting in the annihilation of our planet’s resources and the extinction of our species.”