Some Cambridge University students might consider it a privilege to eat beneath a 17th century oil painting. But not if the students are vegetarian or vegan, and the work features animals bound for the dinner table.

The Fowl Market, from the studio of the 16th century Flemish artist Frans Snyders, has been removed from the dining room of Hughes Hall following complaints that it was putting non-meat-eaters off their food.

The painting features a collection of dead animals, including a swan, a boar, a deer and various game birds.

It had been on long-term loan from the university’s Fitzwilliam Museum. After its return in December last year, it underwent conservation treatment and is about to go on display as part of a new exhibition, Fast & Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500-1800.

A museum spokeswoman explained: “Some diners felt unable to eat because it was on the wall. People who don’t eat meat found it slightly repulsive. They asked for it to come down.

“This exhibition makes the points that the debate about vegetarianism, about veganism, is nothing new. It dates back to the 1500s.”