Dead Bunny Rabbits Burned for Bioenergy in Sweden

Photos via the Local

Everyone loves bunny rabbits--they hop around gleefully, their noses twitch in that adorable way, and after they're dead, you can burn their corpses for bioenergy. At least, that's what they're doing in Stockholm, Sweden. See, they have a rabbit overpopulation problem in the Scandinavian capitol--the bunnies keep doing what they do best, and they're overrunning the plant life. So the resourceful Swedes came up with a solution: they kill the overabundant bunnies, toss their cadavers into a local heating plant, and keep the locals warm with dead rabbits.Waste not want not, they say.

Every year, the city of Stockholm must carry out mass hunts to keep the rabbit population from exploding--last year, a record 6,000 rabbits were killed in order to preserve ecosystems and green spaces within the city. Instead of just disposing of the dead rabbits, the city "froze them for eventual transport to a special heating plant in Karlskoga in central Sweden, where the bunny bodies are then burned as a form of bioenergy," according the Local.

It's a practical solution (recycling!) to an ugly problem, which authorities believe stems from too many pet owners releasing their bunnies into city parks. People tired of caring for the pets feel that the rabbits will be safe in the parks, where they can play with other rabbits. The rabbits then take advantage of the lack of predators and procreate quickly--officials say it only takes a few released rabbits to jump start the cycle. They then begin to ravage the green areas for food, and animal control must step in.

According to the Local,

Animal control authorities employ a special rifle to shoot the excess rabbits, with most of the culling taking place at dawn when the animals peek out from their holes.The city usually steps up its rabbit hunting efforts in the autumn as leaves begin to fall from bushes and trees, making it easier to see the rabbits.
I guess PETA doesn't have a branch in Stockholm. After they're hunted, the rabbits are gathered, frozen, and shipped to a heating plant in the middle of Sweden, where they're used to keep people in the city of Varmland warm.

Have the Swedes discovered a brand new possibility for renewable energy? Forget wind energy--let's crank up the dead rabbit power.

The story is understandably igniting some passionate discussion in our Forum--what do you think? Join the debate.

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Tags: Alternative Energy | Animals | Clean Energy

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