grantellissheffield Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Bunny Boiling: Rabbits Burnt To Fuel City 8:14am UK, Wednesday October 21, 2009 Hazel Tyldesley, Sky News Online Swedes will turn on their central heating this winter in the knowledge that it may be powered in part by the burning carcasses of thousands of rabbits. Many of the bunnies used for biofuel were once pets, a pest control worker said The creatures are being harvested from parks in Stockholm, shot dead, deep frozen and shipped to a plant in central Sweden where they are burned and used to heat homes. Some 6,000 rabbits were killed last year for biofuel and 3,000 have so far been culled this year, Stockholm-based newspaper The Local reported. It added that the effort to shoot the rabbits will be stepped up now autumn has arrived and the fallen leaves make it easier to track down the creatures. Tommy Tuvunger, a worker for the agency that controls Stockholm's wild animal population, said many of those culled were former household pets, as they are not a breed native to Sweden. Their appetite for foliage in the city's parks and their prolific breeding was creating a "very big problem" for Stockholm, he added. Bunnies a 'big problem' in parks "People who think that the bunnies are cute and cuddly suddenly don't think they're as fun anymore and put the animals outside. They think: 'there they can play with the other rabbits'," he told the newspaper Vårt Kungsholmen. The authorities may see turning rabbits into biofuel as an efficient solution, but their tactic has met with objections from animal rights activists. “Those who support the culling of rabbits surely think it’s good to use the bodies for a good cause. But it feels like they’re trying to turn the animals into an industry rather than look at the main problem," said Anna Johannesson of the Society for the Protection of Wild Rabbits. She suggested that there were more humane methods of keeping the rabbit population at bay, such as spraying park plants with a chemical that made them unappetising. The wild rabbit population in Britain is estimated to be 45m, but the Renewable Energy Association says it does not know of any firms that are planning to follow the Swedish move. However, a spokesperson told Sky News Online that it would not be difficult to use dead rabbits to create energy. "Biodiesel can be made of anything that's got oil in it. If you can end up with a fat, it's chemically relatively simple to turn it into biofuel," he said. "One of our member companies, Argent Energy, uses tallow - animal fat that is left over from processing. "Because they are using a waste product, their sustainability is fantastic." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 they used to be made into glue so fuel is even better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sooty 54 Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Sounds good to me , i think we should do the same in this country ! or even better use grey squirrels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fo5ter Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 now if only i could use them to heat my house... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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