A pizza restaurant in Adelaide has come under fire for refusing to remove a dead cow that’s hanging from their ceiling.
If it makes you feel better, the cow Schvitzy was sent to the taxidermy store and stuffed first, so she’s not dripping blood on your food, but it is nonetheless a real, eight-year-old dead cow dangling by her hooves watching you eat dairy in total judgement.
Husband and wife owners of Etica: Pizza al Taglio, Federico and Melissa Pisanelli, defend Schvitzy’s inclusion in the restaurant, saying she’s “purposely confronting”.
“This is not a marketing campaign to attract clientele … we did this as an expression in line with our own principles,” Mr Pisanelli told Adelaide Now.
“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.”
WATCH: Piers Morgan have a go at a young hunter.
The Facebook comments he’s referring to are those from vegetarians and vegans who aren’t happy with the cow’s placement in the restaurant – and by not happy, I mean they’re flooding the business with one star reviews and streams of graphic photos of dead animals.
Those commenting reject the company’s ethos of responsible consumption, accusing them of supporting “the exploitation and slaughter of animals” – normally in more colourful language.
In response to the pretty extreme backlash, the couple posted a response outlining the difference between animal welfare, which their company is interested in, and animal rights.
“Etica was created to promote animal welfare. This means that we work hard to select produce sourced from farms with the highest welfare standards. We never compromise on this.”
They add: “We do not aim to influence on whether one should consume dairy, but rather, we urge our consumers to understand the origin of their food in order to make a conscious decision on whether to eat it.
“The pose of Schvitzy, as she was affectionately known, is purposely confronting. She has not been hung for decoration. The installation has a mission: it aims to draw a connection to the true consequence of consuming dairy.”
They explain that Schvitzy was a by-product of a dairy farm and she was slaughtered at the couple’s home, entirely consumed her meat and then hung her skin in the venue.
“We are all at different stages of our own moral journey. It is easy to criticise other’s ethics that do not align with one’s own: Etica believes it is much more powerful to make an informed choice rather than adopt an ideology that one does not completely understand.
“Peace, love and pizza.”
