Police investigated but won't lay charges after a student at the Alberta College of Art and Design slaughtered a chicken in a packed school cafeteria, as part of an art project, during the lunch hour on Thursday.
Police were called in after a student at ACAD entered the cafeteria during the busy lunch hour period and reportedly pulled a chicken out of a box, calmed it down, then slowly and methodically slit the chicken's throat, drained the blood, plucked the bird and threw it in a pot.
The act was reportedly a performance act piece.
Within moments, word of the event spread like wildfire across campus and social media, with many students calling for charges to be laid.
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But after interviewing the student involved and consulting with the Crown, the Calgary Police Service announced during a press conference that no charges will be laid in connection to the public slaughter.
"Officers have completed their report, consulted with the Crown and, preliminarily, there are no charges relating to this offence," said Insp. Rick Tuza.
Some students expressed their approval of the act, saying it reminded those in attendance of the natural connection between a living animal and the food on their plates.
But others were not so impressed, accusing the student of the lowest form of performance and simply going for shock value.
Dianne Taylor-Gearing, ACAD's VP of academic affairs told Global Calgary the piece was not assigned.
The school is still investigating the incident and say the student may still face disciplinary action, the CBC reports
Shortly after the incident, ACAD posted a note on the college's Facebook page in which they said they don't condone the actions and offered grief counselling to any student who needed it.