Three piglets which were being allowed to starve as part of a controversial art exhibition in Denmark that had drawn international attention have been stolen, the artist said on Wednesday. Chilean-born Marco Evaristti said he had been aiming to raise awareness of the suffering caused by mass meat production with his art

Three starving piglets were taken from a former butcher’s warehouse, according to the Copenhagen police. The artist said he wanted to wake up society about animal mistreatment.

Three piglets have vanished from a controversial Denmark art exhibit in which they were deprived of food and water as a form of protest.