via IMDB

Eco-stars like Ben Stiller and Adrian Grenier came out to support the new fishy film entitled “The Cove,” on Thursday at the film’s premiere in New York. Animal activist Hayden Panettiere stars in the documentary by Louis Psihoyos that reveals the severe animal abuse going on in the deep blue seas of Japan.

“The Cove,” documents Taigi, Japan: “a little town with a really big secret” as the movie says. Indeed, this is no vacation hot spot or celebrity get away. The cove is where more than 23,000 dolphins have been brutally murdered by Japanese fisherman. Hayden traveled to the cove in 2007 with Australian actress Isabel Lucas. Hayden, Isabel and other activists swam with the dolphins in protest their slaughter and were arrested by local authorities. Yep, Hayden has a warrant out for her arrest.

While commercial whaling has been outlawed worldwide since the mid-1980s, the prohibition has not yet been extended to smaller marine mammals like dolphins. This is in large part because of Japan’s opposition. Some of the beautiful creatures are captured and sold to Western aquariums (for $150,000) and the rest are slaughtered for food purposes—a huge health concern because the meat contains toxic levels of mercury.

So think twice before visiting Sea World this summer and make sure to see this film that won the 2009 Sundance Audience Award. It hits theaters on July 31st but in the mean time you can send a letter to President Obama, Vice President Biden and Ambassador Fujisaki--the Japanese Ambassador to the United States--urging them to address this issue. You can also sign Hayden’s Save the Whales Again! petition.

Check out the trailer below and tell us what you think!