A British performance artist and vegetarian has consumed the flesh of a corgi dog in protest of a fox hunt led by Prince Philip earlier this year.

Mark McGowan, whose past performance pieces have included eating the flesh of a swan and using his nose to push a peanut along about 11 km of sidewalk to Downing Street, ate the meal Tuesday during a live broadcast on a London-area radio show.

British performance artist Mark McGowan looked physically ill as he chewed slowly through the first mouthful of the Queen's favourite dog.
(Yui Mok/Associated Press)

McGowan has since posted a video of the stunt on his website. The dog used had recently died at a corgi breeding farm.

The dog's flesh had been minced and mixed with other ingredients to form what appeared to be meatballs. McGowan said it tasted "disgusting" and appears slightly nauseous in the video.

"I know some people will find this offensive and tasteless but I am doing this to raise awareness about the RSPCA's inability to prosecute Prince Philip and his friends [for] shooting a fox earlier this year, letting it struggle for life for five minutes and then beating it to death with a stick," McGowan said in a statement.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported that it found "no evidence" of any offence in January, when Philip's hunt took place.

Some animal rights activists have sided with McGowan.

"The idea of eating a corgi will make many people lose their lunch, but certainly foxes who are hunted for so-called entertainment, are no less capable of feeling fear and pain," Poorva Joshipura, a spokesperson for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, told the BBC.

The corgi is Queen Elizabeth's favourite dog breed. She has owned more than 30 corgis over the years and allows her current four the run of Buckingham Palace.