Viewers tore into a militant vegan who claimed the dairy industry rapes and 'sexually violates' cows on This Morning as he sat next to two farmers who received death threats after posting photos of their calves online.

Joey Carbstrong, 31, an Australian 'celebrity' vegan activist with tens of thousands of YouTube and Instagram followers, lectured dairy farmers Jonny and Dulcie Crickmore about their rearing methods.

The campaigner, who just days ago attacked Jeremy Vine for eating a ham sandwich, claimed artificial insemination - during which semen are injected into the female cow's 'reproductive tract' - was equivalent to 'sexual abuse' as the animal could not give consent.

Joey Carbstrong, 31, an Australian 'celebrity' vegan activist with tens of thousands of YouTube and Instagram followers, lectured dairy farmers Jonny and Dulcie Crickmore about their rearing methods

Carbstrong said: ‘Cows are artificially inseminated with a fist up their anus. When she can’t produce any more, she is murdered for her body.'

When asked by presenter Philip Schofield if the process could really be described as 'rape', as activists had said online, Carbstrong said: 'If the victim is a human being we would call it that.

'It is sexual abuse. We are sexually violating a sentient being against their will. That is amoral – they cannot give consent to this.’

Carbstrong's comments were savaged by viewers on Twitter, who accused him of behaving in an unreasonable and aggressive manner.

'Jess' said: 'If you want to be vegan, absolutely fine. If you don’t want to be, again, absolutely fine. Leave people alone for god sake.'

Another viewer wrote: 'This militant vegan on This Morning has me howling. His eyes are going to pop out of his head any minute.

The campaigner, who just days ago attacked Jeremy Vine for eating a ham sandwich, claimed artificial insemination - during which semen are injected into the female cow's 'reproductive tract' - was equivalent to 'sexual abuse'. He is seen on the programme next to Mr and Mrs Crickmore

'He doesn’t even listen. Just looks for a moment to interject & shove his views, quite aggressively, down everyone’s throats. What an arrogant man.

And Jennifer Down, a farmer, tweeted: 'We’re not forcing vegans to eat meat so why are they forcing us to be vegan!? We farmers have no issues with the lifestyle they choose.'

Farmers are Jonny and Dulcie Crickmore also defended their trade against Carbstrong's slurs.

Mrs Crickmore said: ‘We uploaded a social media post showing three triplets, and quickly received a lot of abuse from vegans.

‘Words like rape, murder and slavery were consistent.

‘Rape is an act of sexual predation; murder is one human being purposely killing another human being; and slavery is one human being enslaving another human being.’

Carbstrong's comments were savaged by viewers on Twitter, who accused him of behaving in an unreasonable and aggressive manner

Mr Crickmore: ‘I find those words like “rape” and “murder’ very offensive.

‘We have billions of people in this world and they have to be fed. Like 270-odd other species on this planet, we eat meat.’

Carbstrong recently hit the headlines after lecturing BBC Radio 2 host Jeremy Vine for having a ham sandwich on his desk.

The self-proclaimed 'vegan educator' has come to prominence recently because of his clashes with farmers who he has likened to 'slave owners'.

Carbstrong, from Adelaide in south Australia, is currently touring the UK and Ireland because he has an 'obligation' to convert meat eaters to veganism.

He said: 'If you stand by and watch, that's akin to standing by and watching someone abuse their wife and not saying anything. If you didn't intervene, then you become complicit.'

Carbstrong was set to discuss that but was instead distracted by the ham sandwich Vine had brought in for his lunch.

Who is militant vegan Joey Carbstrong? The 31-year-old, a former gang member, spent time in prison before turning his life around and turning 'full vegan' for both ethical and health reasons Joey Carbstrong, whose real name is Joey Armstrong, is a 'celebrity' vegan activist from Australia with tens of thousands of YouTube and Instagram followers. The 31-year-old, a former gang member, spent time in prison before turning his life around and becoming 'full vegan' for both ethical and health reasons. After dropping out of school aged 14, Mr Carbstrong fell in with the wrong crowd, eventually turning to 'more serious, hardcore, organised crime gangs' and dealing drugs to support his own habit. He is said to have spent much of his youth using methamphetamine and drinking alcohol. Aged 26, he spent six months in jail for possession of a firearm, which he had hidden down his trousers while on house detention. Discussing his gang related crime, he said: 'I still had compassion in my heart but it was clouded by the environment that shaped me and people around me.' While holed up in prison he had 'an epiphany' and became determined to turn his back on the criminal world. He said: 'It was the longest I'd been sober for the past 12 years of my life. I began seeing my life with new eyes. I'd seen all the other prisoners in there and didn't want to be there, I wanted to leave the gangs.' Mr Carbstrong turned to the teachings of Dan McDonald, an American advocate for raw food and fasting who formerly had a drug problem. Following his release from prison he then went 'full vegan'. The 31-year-old said: 'I'd always said that it's hypocritical to say you love animals – save the whales, dolphins, dogs – but then have a piece of an animal that's suffered and had a bolt gun to the head on your plate. I was a walking hypocrite…I decided to align my actions and my morals.' Since then he has become a militant vegan campaigner and has been touring the world to encourage people with his radical message. He is currently on tour of the UK and Ireland, attending daytime vigils and protests alongside fellow activists. He hit the headlines this week because of his clashes with farmers, likening them to 'slave owners'. He has posted YouTube videos showing him confronting farmers and meat industry workers, saying they 'should be scared'. Advertisement

Inspecting it, the former gang member who spent six months in prison, said: 'I'm a bit upset to see your sandwich has a piece of a pig's body in there. A dead pig that didn't want to die.

'Ham is a euphemism that actually comes from the flesh of a dead pig.'

Commenting on the incident, Carbstrong said: ‘The passion was justified, Jeremy has not spent as many hours as I have seeing pigs being lowered into gas chambers and thrashing around as they die.

'If he had seen things I have seen he wouldn’t have been so insensitive about it and pointed out this piece of dead meat.’