Dozens of animal rights protesters have been arrested after a ‘vigil’ at a fish market in London.

Met Police said 23 people had been taken in after 200 Animal Rebellion demonstrators shut down the main entrance to Billingsgate Fish Market in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Protesters stopped traffic from entering the market for an hour, with one gluing themselves to the entrance of the market in a ‘vigil’ for the ‘trillions of fish that have died’ this year.

In a tweet, 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.’

They added: ‘Every fish has a story, and you know when you’re near, everyone deserves freedom, that’s the reason we’re here.’

The mass volunteer movement demands that ‘the government end the destructive animal farming and fishing industries, and lead a transition to a just, sustainable plant-based food system’.

A photo posted to the group’s Facebook page shows a woman being carried away by three police officers and is accompanied by the caption ‘Mass Arrests at Billingsgate’.

On their Twitter page this morning, they added: ‘It’s pretty wild the number of police you can get to turn up at 5:30am when you hold a peaceful vigil at a fish market to acknowledge the most neglected of all our fellow earthlings’

The group’s spokesperson Alex Lockwood claimed 28 people had been arrested as of 7.45am, but the majority of protesters had since left the area.

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.’

He added that 200 people had taken part in the demonstration and they had stopped vehicles from entering the market between 5am and 6am.

Protesters had gathered at Montgomery Square in Canary Wharf at 2.30am before moving down to the market.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, the Met Police said: ‘As of 09:30hrs on Saturday 12 October there had been (since 06:30hrs) 23 arrests made at Billingsgate.

‘Of these: 22 were for ‘Knowingly failing to comply with a condition imposed under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986’ and one was for aggravated trespass.’

They added that this figure may rise as more people were booked in.

According to Animal Rebellion’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.

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