Protesters formed a blockade this weekend to fight against animal exploitation.

Members of the Waltham Forest and Redbridge Green Party joined protesters calling for an end to animal cruelty in Trafalgar Square on Saturday (August 17).

One party member, Mark Dawes, joined the blockade organised by Animal Rebellion which was part of the Official Animal Rights March.

A total of 12,000 animal activists marched from Hyde Park to Parliament Square opposing animal exploitation and promoting veganism.

Animal Rebellion is a mass campaign group that uses non-violent civil disobedience to call for the end of animal agriculture and fishing industries.

The group wants to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of climate breakdown and social collapse.

A spokesperson for the Green Party said: “Every day millions of animals suffer by being farmed for food, by vivisection, being killed for fur, by hunting, shooting and being exploited in zoos.

“Animal Rebellion will mobilise 10,000 animal advocates for a two-week rebellion in October in London to blockade Smithfield Market, the UK’s biggest meat market.”

Mark Dawes, of the Waltham Forest and Redbridge Green Party, said: “As well as causing unnecessary and extreme cruelty to the animals, animal agriculture and fishing are leading causes of climate change and the collapse of our ecosystems.

“If we are to stop climate change and the damage to our environment, we need to move towards a plant-based diet. Going vegan is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on the planet.”