Last Thursday, on April 18, a student at the Alberta College of Art and Design brought a live chicken into the school’s cafeteria. In front of spectators, the student slowly cut the throat of the writhing and screaming bird. The student proceeded to bleed the chicken out, remove the head and feathers and drop the bird into a pot–all under the guise of performance art.Art never justifies harming and inflicting fear, pain and suffering upon another sentient being. The student`s actions must be recognized as what they are: blatant abuse and cruelty inflicted upon a defenceless animal.
Further, the student`s actions may be a sign of psychopathology. A large body of research indicates that those who inflict pain and suffering upon human victims start by inflicting it upon non-human animals.
It is important that the student who committed this cruelty be prosecuted by authorities and disciplined by the school (along with undergoing mandatory psychological treatment).
TAKE ACTION:
1. Contact the Alberta College of Art and Design to urge the school to discipline the student who committed this act of cruelty, adopt a formal policy prohibiting animal cruelty. Also request that the school take steps to counteract the unacceptable message of cruelty and violence promoted by this student’s actions and invite CETFA`s humane educator to give a presentation to students, faculty and staff.
2. Contact the Chief of Calgary Police Service, the Chief Crown Prosecutor, the Alberta SPCA and the Calgary Humane Society, and politely urge them to lay charges against the student as Section 2 of Alberta’s provincial Animal Protection Act prohibits causing an animal to be in distress (defined in s.1(2) as including animals that are injured, in pain, suffering, abused or subjected to undue hardship).
CONTACTS
Alberta College of Art and Design
Dr. Daniel Doz, President and CEO
1407-14 Ave NW
Calgary, Alberta T2N 4R3
Email : president@acad.ca
Phone: 403.284.7670
Fax: 403.338.5575
Anne Marie Dorland, Director of Communications
Email: AnneMarie.Dorland@acad.ca
Phone: 403.284.7656
Rick Hanson, Chief of Calgary Police Service
Calgary Police Service
5111 47 St. N.E.
Calgary, Alberta T3J 3R2
Email: cps@calgarypolice.ca
Phone: 403-428-5900
Lloyd Robertson, Chief Crown Prosecutor
600 Centrium Place
332-6 Ave. S.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2P 0B2
Email: lloyd.robertson@gov.ab.ca
Phone: 403-297-8444
Fax: 403-297-4311
Alberta SPCA
Terra Johnston, Executive Director
10806 – 124 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5M 0H3
Email: execdir@albertaspca.org
10806 – 124 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5M 0H3
Email: execdir@albertaspca.org
Phone: 780-447-3600
Fax: 780-447-4748
Fax: 780-447-4748
Calgary Humane Society
Mark Takhar, Executive Director
Brad Nichols, Manager of Animal Cruelty Investigations
4455 110th AVE SE
Calgary, Alberta T2C 2T7
Email: general.inquiries@calgaryhumane.ca or admin@calgaryhumane.ca
Phone: 403-205-4455
Fax: 403-723-6050
Calgary, Alberta T2C 2T7
Email: general.inquiries@calgaryhumane.ca or admin@calgaryhumane.ca
Phone: 403-205-4455
Fax: 403-723-6050
Canadians for Ethical Treatment of Food Animals (CETFA) 
We need to have a PETITION for people to sign and then these signatures & comments can be sent to all of the above “authorities” email addresses. Otherwise, the protest will be diluted when this is animal abuse and the “art students” who committed this egregious act should be prosecuted and expelled from the school. This is a FAILING grade for everyone involved who continues to enable such atrocities to happen.
Please take a minute now to write a paragraph to these authorities to prevent ALL future animal atrocities like this one, from masquerading as an “art class” for sociopaths.
Next time it may be your pet or even your child if there are NO consequences for those who committed this illegal act!! Very frightening that those who are supposed to be enforcing animal protection laws, fail to do so even when these are clear & heinous violations. To send out ONE email blast to everyone, here is the block of addresses:
Calgary Humane Society , admin@calgaryhumane.ca, Alberta SPCA execdir@albertaspca.org, Chief Crown Prosecutor lloyd.robertson@gov.ab.ca, Calgary Police Service cps@calgarypolice.ca, Director of Communications AnneMarie.Dorland@acad.ca, President of Alberta College of Art and Design president@acad.ca,
I emailed the prosecutor and they said they will not pursue charges due to insufficient evidence! How is this possible and what can we do?
Hi Tracy:
Historically, law enforcement has been extremely hesitant to take a stand on animal issues, farm animals in particular. You did the right thing in contacting them. We’ll continue to apply pressure.
Animal rights must always trump such heinous human wrongs!!! Please send your letters of protest and ask your friends who care to do the same. We are the only voice for the voiceless and most vulnerable. Never be silent.
I just learned of this act of cruelty that someone is trying to play off as ‘art’. As an art teacher and an artist I say shame of those who turn a blind eye and those who condone this kind of sick, sociopathic behavior.
I don’t know this particular student’s motivation for this heinous act. If it was “for Art’s sake?” Chickens are confined, tortured and mutilated BEHIND CLOSED DOORS everyday to serve our Gluttony. If this student is a “sociopath” then our blindness and gluttony are evidence of our moral schizophrenia. Those soapboxes are slippery. Tread carefully.