Two men have been fined for eating raw squirrel carcasses at a vegan market stall in London, United Kingdom. London residents Deonisy Khlebnikov, 22, and Gatis Lagzdins, 29, were filmed biting into the squirrels at the food stand on Rupert Street on 30 March this year, reports The Independent.

They didn’t pay heed to the pleas of a distressed child’s parent and continued eating the raw rodents. The duo was fined a total of £600 (Rs 51,000 approx) plus costs and a surcharge after they were found guilty of disorderly behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, at a trial at City of London Magistrates’ Court.

Lagzdins’ who goes by the name of sv3rige on his YouTube channel posted a video of himself and Khlebnikov, eating the squirrels. The video’s misleading title said, “JAILED For Eating Meat @ Soho Vegan Market”.

Lagzdins can be seen tearing open a dead squirrel with his bare hands before eating some of the innards. Khlebnikov then unsuccessfully attempts to tear into another dead squirrel with his teeth, before ripping the rodent’s carcass open with his hands, bragging to a passerby that “it smells good.” “No, it doesn’t smell good. Surely not,” the passerby responds.

When another passerby asks why the squirrels had to be eaten raw, Lagzdins says, “you lose the nutrients by cooking them”.

Lagzdins is also heard saying that they ordered the squirrels online. He also appears to be wearing a plucked dead duck on a string around his neck. When police arrive on the scene and ask Khlebnikov, who has blood smeared across his face, to stop eating the squirrel, he responds by saying, “This is my food.”

“You’ve provoked a reaction,” the policeman tells him. “Look at how many people are now recording this.” The police eventually arrest the duo as other members of their “pro-meat” group shout, “Meat is totally allowed”.

Natalie Clines from the Crown Prosecution Service said Khlebnikov and Lagzdins' claim that they were against veganism and were raising awareness about the dangers of not eating meat when they publicly consumed raw squirrels.

“But by choosing to do this outside a vegan food stall and continuing with their disgusting and unnecessary behaviour despite requests to stop, including from a parent whose child was upset by their actions, the prosecution was able to demonstrate that they had planned and intended to cause distress to the public,” said Natalie, adding, “Their premeditated actions caused significant distress to members of the public, including young children.”

Khlebnikov was fined £200 plus costs and a surcharge, while Lagzdins, who skipped the hearing, was fined £400 plus costs and a surcharge.

This is not the first time Lagzdins has pulled such a stunt, according to The Independent. “Just a few days prior to the squirrel nibbling episode in London, he was down in Brighton where he was filmed eating chunks of flesh from a raw pig’s head, also in protest at a vegan gathering,” the publication reports.