Burning rabbits: too cruel a fuel?

Thousands of rabbits living in the centre of Stockholm are being killed, deep frozen and converted into fuel for heating homes.

The rabbits, which live loose on the Stockholm island of Kungsholmen, are former pets or their descendants.

They were already being killed as a pest control measure.

Now, their bodies are processed by a company called Biomal, which prepares them for burning.

James Savage is the managing editor of The Local newspaper in Stockholm.

First broadcast 15 October 2009