SAN FRANCISCO -- In the wake of several violent threats, the San Francisco Art Institute announced it has permanently closed a controversial art exhibit.

Adel Abdessemed's Don't Trust Me exhibit, made up of video footage showing animals being hit by sledgehammers, was scheduled to be on display March 20 through March 31.

Last Saturday, officials announced the exhibit was temporarily suspended and scheduled a public discussion.

Art Institute officials said they received a series of threats by animal-rights extremists and decided to close the exhibit for good.

"My first concern is with the safety and security of SFAI's students, faculty, staff and their families, as well as members of the public that regularly visit the campus," said institute President Chris Bratton in a prepared statement. "In light of the violent threats by extremists against this institution, we are unfortunately forced to cancel any public discussion or display regarding this artwork."

Officials said that a campaign by groups such as the Animal Liberation Front, In Defense of Animals and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals aimed to get the exhibit shut down.

The campaigns resulted in explicit threats of death and sexual violence against staff members and their families, according to the Art Institute. Some of the threats included racial, religious and homophobic slurs, officials said.

"Though we've decided to take this action, SFAI stands behind the exhibition as an instance of a long-standing and serious commitment, on SFAI's part, to reflection on, and free and open discussion of, contemporary global art and culture," Bratton said.

The Art Institute claims Abdessemed merely participated in a circuit of food production already in existence in rural Mexico where the animals were raised for food, purchased and professionally slaughtered.

"Here then, is a case where highly local assumptions about how things are produced have come to inform how the world itself is seen," said Bratton. "In general, consumption in the U.S. is fueled by things produced out of sight and from far away... Simply stated, it is an outrage that threats of violence have, in this case, succeeded in derailing a public debate on issues that are critical to out everyday lives."