People Are Really Mad at This Restaurant for Hanging a Dead Cow from Its Ceiling

Restaurant decor is a tricky one to get right. You want the lighting to be atmospheric, but not so atmospheric that people are forced to squint unattractively through the darkness at their menus. The chairs should be stylish but also comfortable (anything metal that leaves diners with numb bums before the main course arrives is a no-no) and the colour scheme should be neutral enough to ensure all focus is on the food.

And if you want an interior design quirk to really get diners talking? String a dead animal up by its hind legs in the middle of your dining room.

No, really, a restaurant actually did this. Etica, a pizza joint in the Australian city of Adelaide, found itself at the mercy of online commenters this week for its decision to hang the body of a dead cow from its ceiling.

Suspended by its hooves in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, the eight-year-old Friesian Hereford cow hangs in full view of the Etica's diners. Melbourne Museum taxidermist Dean Smith was specially commissioned by the restaurant to stuff the cow's body, after all its meat had been consumed.

Unlike other bovine art installations, such as Damien Hirst's Mother and Child (Divided), Etica's dead cow isn't intended to shock. Owners Federico and Melissa Pisanelli hope that Schvitzy (their nickname for the cow) will force their people to confront the realities of consuming meat and dairy. While Etica is not a vegan restaurant, it promotes itself as an establishment serving "ethically sourced produce" ("etica" is the Italian for "ethics") and sees the hanging cow as a way to make diners think about the meat they choose to eat.

Speaking to local website Broadsheet shortly after the restaurant's opening, the Pisanellis explained this thinking. They said: "Etica recognises and promotes the need to make an informed choice. It's giving people the knowledge to make their own decision."

And what could be more informing than a heifer hanging over your head?

The internet, however, doesn't seem to have received the Pisanellis' message about highlighting the realities of the meat industry. Many angry commenters took to the restaurant's Facebook page to voice their outrage at what they see as a cruel display of an innocent animal carcass. One wrote "this is Cruel, Disgusting and a pure act of EVIL" while others branded it "disgraceful" and encouraged the restaurant to remove it. One particularly enraged user wrote: "You think this is acceptable??? A real dead cow hanging from the ceiling? How much more disrespectful can we be to such gentle creatures?"

The outrage has even inspired a change.org petition, which calls on Etica to "Take Down Their Dead Cow Display." So far, it has received more than 5,000 signatures.

Federico, however, says that the feedback from customers who have dined at the restaurant over the last three months is at odds with the online comments. He told local newspaper The Advertiser: "The last 48 hours on social media doesn't represent the overall feedback we've received. It's been overwhelmingly productive and we have fully engaged with customers about what the cow represents. Many of the Facebook comments seem misinformed about why the cow is there. The installation is a means of highlighting the realities of the [dairy] industry."

And, it seems, the realities of social media outrage.