Texas-based company Hornet Signs has been bashed and criticized online after attaching a tail-gate decal of a kidnapped woman onto an employee's vehicle.

According to the Daily Mail, the tail-gate decal depicting a blonde woman tied up at the back of a car was so realistic that it caused motorists and other individuals who saw it dial 911.

The Waco Police Department has received several calls from people in Waco who thought that the woman was indeed kidnapped.

Hornet Signs owner, Brad Kolb said that the tail-gate decal of the kidnapped woman was actually an experiment. The company wanted to test out just how realistic their decals were.

The kidnapped woman, wearing jeans and a pink top on the tail-gate decal is actually one of the company's employees who volunteered to be photographed for the decal.

Kolb also said that apart from people actually noticing their cleverly-made tail-gate decal, the company had no other expectations out of the experiment.

"It was more or less something we put out there to see who noticed it. I wasn't expecting the reactions we got, nor do we condone this by any means," Kolb told KWTX in a report by the Daily Mail.

An online petition has been launched against the decal. The petition was initiated by Trisha Mychoice Lynch and read:

"Using imagery of a hog-tied woman on the back of a pick up truck is unacceptable in today's climate of violence against women. We stand united against any and all imagery glorifying violence against women. Cease and Desist."

The online petition is aiming for 1000 signatures and has gathered 904 signatures so far.

Hornet Signs has decided to remove the controversial tail-gate decal from the back of their employee's vehicle and burn it, says USA Today. The company also donated $2,500 to the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children in Waco.

In a 2-minute video posted on Youtube, Kolb addressed the controversial vinyl wrap saying that the company and its employees "do not condone abusive behavior in any form to any individual. He also called on people to "let us know what motivates you to act." Watch the video below.