Animal rights group claims ‘mass arrests’ at fish market demonstration
Animal Rebellion claimed 28 people had been arrested during the protest at Billingsgate Fish Market.
Animal rights protesters claim there have been “mass arrests” at their demonstration at a London fish market.
Video footage showed dozens of demonstrators standing outside Billingsgate Fish Market in Poplar in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Animal Rebellion, which aims to “end the animal agriculture industry”, has said it is behind the protest.
The group’s spokesperson, Alex Lockwood, said demonstrators stopped traffic entering the fish market and that one protester locked themselves to the entrance gate.
He claimed 28 people had been arrested as of 7.45am, and that the majority of protesters had since left the area.
A photo posted by the group shows a woman being carried away by three police officers and is accompanied by the caption “Mass Arrests at Billingsgate”.
London Metropolitan Police was unable to confirm whether there had been any arrests.
Mr Lockwood said around 200 people took part in the demonstration and gathered at Montgomery Square in Canary Wharf at 2.30am before moving down to the market.
He said: “One protester got inside [the market] and locked himself to the entrance gate.
“It meant they had to shut down the site and police then moved in.
“We then sat down, which was obstructing traffic, and so they started arresting us.”
Mr Lockwood claimed the group stopped traffic from entering the market for about an hour between 5am and 6am.
In a tweet about its “vigil” at the fish market, Animal Rebellion said: “So many here, here for the fishes, for the thousands in the market, dead or dying, for the trillions killed this year #friendsnotfood.”
Animal Rebellion describes itself as a “mass volunteer movement” demanding that the Government end the “destructive animal farming and fishing industries”.
According to the group’s website, it wants the Government to lead a “transition to a just, sustainable plant-based food system”.
The group said it stands in “solidarity” with the climate change campaigners Extinction Rebellion.
