British man eats corgi with Yoko
Wednesday May 30 13:33 AEST

A British artist ate a corgi dog, famous for being Queen Elizabeth II's favourite breed, in protest after a group including her husband Prince Philip allegedly killed a fox earlier this year.

And Yoko Ono, the widow of ex-Beatle John Lennon, also had a taste of the "really, really disgusting" meat, which came from a corgi that died naturally at a breeding farm.

Mark McGowan, who has previously eaten a swan as part of a performance art show, tucked into the dog live on a London radio station.

"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 shooting a fox earlier this year, letting it struggle for life for five minutes and then beating it to death with a stick," he said.

The RSPCA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is in charge of handing over evidence to British prosecutors in cases where they believe acts of cruelty to animals have been committed.

They said they found "no evidence" that any offence had taken place in January, when the incident took place.

"An independent post-mortem examination was carried out and found that the fox died from gunshot wounds and no evidence of other injury or trauma was found," it said in a statement.

"The only witness who could have supported the version of events reported in some sections of the media refused to give a statement."

McGowan said the dog tasted "really, really disgusting," and added that Ono "looked a bit strange" as she also tasted the dog.

The queen has owned more than 30 corgis during her reign, which started in 1952, and currently owns four including Pharos, Swift, Emma and Linnet.