During last week’s FIAC art fair in Paris, police were dispatched to remove photos by Russian artist Oleg Kulik on the grounds that they displayed bestiality, Agence France-Presse reports via Artforum.

In the more lurid photographs, taken in the late 1990s, the artist, naked, simulates sex with animals. Police seized the images, alleging that the fair was accessible to minors, and brought in Yelena Selina and Sergei Khripun, owners of Moscow art gallery XL, for questioning.

The works were later returned to the FIAC organizers.

According to Martin Bethenod, FIAC’s director, the raid “shocked” the art world.

“These images have an unquestionable artistic status since they have been shown, bought, exhibited, and edited since the 1990s,” he said, adding that Kulik's work is represented in France's national art collections.