Stockholm Rabbit Bio Fuels

Last week it emerged that the Swedes are a nation of bunny boilers. Joking aside, residents of the Swedish city Stockholm are divided over a bunny burning issue. The bodies of thousands of culled rabbits are fuelling a heating plant in the city in a bid to address two problems at once.

Rabbits are not native to Sweden yet rabbits released into the wild by irresponsible owners are breeding in the wild and are said to be obliterating parks in the Swedish capital. As rabbits have no natural predators in this environment, the city has taken steps to address the problem by beginning a rabbit cull. According to one rabbit hunter speaking on Germany’s Spiegel website, 3000 rabbits have already been culled this year. Once the rabbits are dead, a contractor takes the bodies away to a heating plant which incinerates them in order to heat local homes.

This idea has been funded by the EU as part of the Biomal project. Supporters of the project say this is a good system as it deals with disposing of the animal’s bodies yet provides a renewable heat source. However opponents believe this is not a good way to treat rabbits and find the idea rather unpalatable.

Here at Petshop 24-7, we understand the eco argument as we are committed to doing our bit for the environment but the ethics surrounding this are somewhat troubling. We would love to hear your comments about this story.