Burning Bunnies?

Sweden Burns Bunnies for Fuel

By Claire Suddath

The Swedes may be warm, but they are not warm and fuzzy. This fall, authorities rounded up 3,000 wild rabbits and then burned them for fuel at a heating plant in central Sweden. Bunny-killing is an annual practice in Stockholm — it's used to combat overpopulation in the city's extensive network of parks — but the animals had never been used to heat buildings before this year. "The bodies contain a lot of fat, and fat has exactly the same energy content as normal heating oil," explained Leo Virta, chief executive of Konvex, the company handling the bunny-burning. Supporters said that since the bunnies were going to be culled anyway, using them for fuel was both economical and environmentally friendly. Unsurprisingly, Swedish animal-rights activists were not convinced.