Kriti Sanon has been receiving huge backlash from netizens

Kriti Sanon has been receiving huge backlash from netizens for posing with a live-size giraffe for Cosmopolitan India's August issue. In the picture posted by the magazine's official Instagram account, the 'Bareilley Ki Barfi' actress can be seen in a black high-neck top paired with silver tassle trousers and black stilletos, striking a pose with a giraffe that appears to be suspended in the air. 

Minutes after the magazine post got live, people started bashing the photo for its animal-offensive content. A user commented, "Such a shame! You guys are so shameless. Talking about atrocities while portraying animal cruelty in the name of fashion."

"Robert Langdon is on his way to decipher what the f*** is up with a giraffe that has been hung as if to warn other giraffes about what happens when you cross Kriti Sanon, who is wearing pants covered entirely in gold tassels, and a statue of an armless woman kissing her armless son," another one tweeted.

Guys it doesn't matter if it's fake or real. The entire picture is just wrong. If a women dummy was hanging with a male model posing..will that be justified? No," read another comment.

Demanding an apology from Kriti, another user said, "You should take this post down. And delete that picture! And like apologize to every f*****g giraffe. Actually the entire animal kingdom. You want to make a point of subjugation with more subjugation. Ridiculous!"

Cosmopolitan India later added a note in the caption of the picture:  "Aynhoe Park features taxidermy, hundreds of years old, most from museums. Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal that died of natural causes, for academic purposes. The giraffe featured here is floating (not hanging, heavens no!) with balloons on its back. An art installation, in what is possibly one of the eclectic yet most majestic mansions in the world."

"Cosmo loves, no, is obsessed with animals. We were, possibly, the first magazine in India to ban the featuring of fur, three years ago. No animals were harmed before, during, or after this shoot. We may be guilty of watching too many puppy videos during work hours, though," they added.