It looks as though Hayden Panettiere's heroic dolphin-saving mission last month wasn't without consequences for the talented actress.

"I just learned that they have an arrest warrant out for me in Japan," the Heroes star told E! News Wednesday. "We just found this out."

Hayden Panettiere, 18, was part of a convoy of activists from both the U.S. and Australia who, on October 30, paddled out on surfboards to protest the annual slaughter of dolphins and whales by Japanese fisherman.

Her group attempted to swim to and reach a pod of dolphins before it was driven into a nearby cove and massacred, but they were blocked by a fishing boat and attacked themselves before they could reach the marine mammals.

"It was really frightening," a tearful and clearly upset Hayden Panettiere said at the time. "But in the end, all we really worried about was the dolphins."

After returning to shore, the group headed directly to Osaka and left the country to avoid being arrested for trespassing by the Japanese police.

Now it looks like the scare's not quite over for the actress. When asked what the arrest warrant could mean, Hayden replied, "Potentially jail, but I doubt it."

The Heroes cutie is thrilled that the incident garnered international attention, however, as it could result in educating others about dolphins' plight.

"In this town, you tend to be able to get publicity only when you're not wearing underwear or you're in rehab," Panettiere said. "I'm very excited that people were interested in what we did and I'd to it again."