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The performance should have never happened

A ACAD spokesperson would not confirm that the professor’s departure was tied to the chicken incident, saying it was a private personnel issue. Meanwhile, Mr. Ferguson said on Thursday that he had retained legal counsel and had been advised against speaking to media.

He would break his silence only at his lawyers’ discretion, he added.

“Believe me, I have lots to say,” he said.

On social media, a cadre of past and present students have taken up Mr. Ferguson’s cause, organizing a letter-writing campaign to the school’s president in the professor’s defence.

“I was his student in a first-year sculpture class, ” said Graham Krenz, who graduated from the school in 2010. “He was a very good professor, he encouraged discussion on everything. I remember him being supportive to everyone in the class.”

Mr. Krenz said he heard about Mr. Ferguson’s dismissal when the outcry spread through Facebook.

“The performance should have never happened,” he said. “I don’t think it’s acceptable to use an animal as a tool to prove a point under any circumstances. I’ve heard the student worked in a kitchen, does that mean he’s familiar with humane slaughtering? There’s a lot of questions.”

Mr. Krenz said he fears the incident will reduce the quality of teaching at the school.

“Every professor’s going to second guess themselves after this, worrying if they’ll be fired over something controversial,” he said.

Jean Rene Leblanc, an associate professor in the University of Calgary’s arts program, said anything can be artistic, including the killing of a chicken. However, if a student proposed such an idea to him, he’d have it vetted by an ethics committee.