This is just dirty. How could you eat a poor little Puck-ball?

Performance artist 'eats corgi'

The corgi was minced and cooked with apple, onion and seasoning

Performance artist Mark McGowan has eaten what he claims was a cooked corgi in a protest over the Royal Family's treatment of animals.

McGowan performed the stunt on London radio station Resonance FM, and shared his meal with fellow guest Yoko Ono.

"To me it was, as an art piece, exhilarating," he said after the show.

The artist's protest concerned the alleged mistreatment of a fox during a hunt led by Prince Philip in January. The RSPCA said the fox did not suffer.

It's disgusting. It's really, really, really disgusting Mark McGowan on his dog dinner

McGowan, who is a vegetarian, said he wanted his unusual meal to raise awareness about "the RSPCA's inability to prosecute Prince Philip and his friends".

"We love our animals in Britain. Why is it then that we then allow people - especially people who are supposed to be ambassadors for this country - to treat animals with such disrespect?"

'Stinky'

The Queen is famously associated with corgis

The corgi, which died at a breeding farm, was minced and cooked with apple, onion and seasoning.

As he ate the meatballs, McGowan reported: "It's disgusting. It's really, really, really disgusting."

The radio show's presenter, Bob Smith, said he was not convinced the meat came from a dog.

But McGowan said: "It's stinky, it's white-looking, it's not like any meat I've ever seen."

Some animal rights activists approved of the stunt.

"The idea of eating a corgi will make many people lose their lunch," said Poorva Joshipura, director of the European arm of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).

"But foxes, who are hunted for so-called entertainment, are no less capable of feeling fear and pain.

"Most of the British public will agree that it is high time the royals joined the rest of us who live in the 21st Century and opposed to cruelty to animals."

The Royal Family has had a long association with corgi dogs.

The Queen has a particular fondness for corgis, and they have the run of Buckingham Palace - even in the middle of formal state events.