IN ONE CORNER, we have gruff Japanese whalers clubbing baby dolphins to death for their meat. In the other corner, we have sumptuous “Heroes” actress Hayden Panettiere paddling out on a surfboard to save the mammals from being slaughtered. In the end, she couldn’t prevent the hunt, but boy did she win the PR battle.

This week a video surfaced from Britain’s Sky News of the young actress and six other activists from Sea Shepherd confronting whalers on the seas off southwestern Japan. Fended off by boat hooks and propellers, the surfers returned to shore where Panettiere broke down in tears as she described what happened. “We were close enough [to the dolphins] to see them sky-hopping, jumping out of the water to see us. One little baby dolphin stuck his head out and kind of looked at me. The thought that it’s no longer with us is really difficult to take.”

Gulp. She had us at “sky-hopping.” The winner by unanimous decision: Hayden Panettiere (a total knockout, by the way).

Move over, PETA. Greenpeace now has its own self-righteous spokes-blonde: “Just because certain cultures have had long-standing traditions does not mean that in today’s world they are acceptable any longer. The world and the environment are evolving and that means we must change our ways as human beings as well.”

Despite international outcry, some people in parts of Japan believe that dolphins are basically fish (and we know how the Japanese feel about fish). Every year, about 14,000 dolphins are killed for food by local fishermen who say outsiders have no business interfering with their customs and livelihood.

But cultural sensitivities be damned! Panettiere has said she’s willing to go anywhere in the world to “speak on behalf of these helpless creatures who cannot defend themselves.”

Hmm, does this mean she’s on her way to India? That’s where a certain culture has had a long-standing tradition of polluting the Ganges River, the habitat of the Ganges dolphin. And while you’re at it, there’s also the rare Chinese river dolphin, the “goddess of the Yangtze.” Oh, wait, never mind. It’s already extinct.

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