AN ANTI-vegan protester stood eating a raw pig's head outside a vegan festival today.

The solo activist preached holding the bloody head in front of the Brighton Centre, Kings Road, where the annual vegan festival, Vegfest, was taking place.

Members of the Brighton branch of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), an animal activist group, challenged the man.

They surrounded him holding signs saying “it’s not food, it’s violence” and “meat is murder”.

A spokeswoman for DxE said: "A lot of everyday people walking past were also repulsed by the sight of a pig's head which is interesting as most of these people eat pigs as well.

“It goes to show what we already know, that people don't like seeing the faces of the animals they eat.

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“Eating animals is eating a product of torture and death.

“Why is animal abuse so normalised when it's in a burger but shocking when we see the being behind the burger?"

She said the man eating the pig’s head was a visual reminder of the “victims behind our choices”.

She said: “We call ourselves an animal-loving nation but our actions don't reflect that as most people eat and wear animals every day.”

After being confronted, the anti-vegan protester allegedly left.

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According to DxE, more than ten million pigs, aged about five to six months old, are killed each year in slaughterhouses.

The group have recently protested in businesses across Brighton including Starbucks, Waitrose and Tesco’s.