the dailymash

The revelation came after a shocked Midlands housewife chipped a tooth on a name tag with 'Tess' written on it while eating a 'turkey' from the store's value range.

Donna Sheridan, of Derby, said: "I rang the phone number of the back of the name tag to discover that Tess was an eight year-old Spaniel bitch last seen following a trail of Bonios that led into the back of a Tesco delivery van.

"After vomiting I called Tesco Customer Services, who directed me to a label which read, in very small letters, 'Caution: Actually A Spaniel'." She added: "It's disgusting and I'm worried my kids might have distemper."

A spokesman for Tesco said: "A turkey is essentially the same as a spaniel and any differences are purely biological.

"Our spaniels are freshly sourced from a mixture of runaways, RSPCA shelter dogs and professional breeders. It's not like they're old lame ones who've just been put to sleep."

He added: "That said, maybe customers would pay 9p for a plucked geriatric spaniel killed by lethal injection? Every little helps and all that."

Shopper Martin Bishop said: "At first I was disgusted because I really like dogs. But then I discovered I also like the way they taste, and now I'm interested to try a broiled terrier or a slice of pan-fried mastiff haunch.

"Come to think of it, what about some of those giant Indonesian rats and half a dozen roast kittens? I bet they'd make a lovely pie."