Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams joins march to protest against 'disgusting' Japanese dolphin cull

Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark in the TV series, joined thousands demonstrating in Trafalgar Square

Actress Maisie Williams in Trafalgar Square on Sunday (Micha Theiner) (Micha Theiner)

More than a thousand people demonstrated in Trafalgar Square, London yesterday against hunting dolphins and keeping them in captivity.

The protest was aimed at fishermen in Taiji bay, Japan, who spend six months slaughtering dolphins or capturing them for sale to animal parks and zoos. A documentary about it, The Cove, won an Oscar in 2009.

Maisie Williams, the actress who plays Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, was at the front of a march through London. She said: “There are so many ways to get in touch with animals in the wild, in their natural habitat. The fact that we think putting them in tanks is good for anyone is just nonsense, really.”

Dominic Dyer, of animal rights group Care For The Wild, said of the dolphin slaughter: “It’s the equivalent of having your family butchered in front of your eyes, and then being taken away to be put in prison. It’s horrible and it’s disgusting.”