• Sweden edition

Easter bunny popular fare

Published: 11 Apr 09 13:27 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/18798/20090411/

According to Sveriges Radio Östergötland, rabbit meat is fast becoming a sought-after item on the Swedish dinner table, with demand peaking at – of course – Easter time.

“Sales have shot up in the last two to three years, and we are confident the trend will increase, says Gösta Johnsson of the Swedish Association of Rabbit Producers (Kaninproducentföreningen).”

Around 300,000 rabbits are slaughtered for the table every year. Some of these come from rabbit breeder Britt Levander, who attributes the popularity of rabbit meat in Easter week to its association with the much-loved, traditional Easter bunny.

“I suppose people just put the two things together,” says Britt Levander to Radio Östergötland.

Stuart Sheild (news@thelocal.se/08-6566518)

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10:56 April 12, 2009 by dtes
i would eat a parasite human before i´d eat a happy little bunny!
17:31 April 12, 2009 by Mzungu
^

Oh dear!

Rabbit is delicious. As a youngster we would place goodies likened by Rabbits on the 13th hole (quite close to a little wooded area) of the local golf links before sunrise,when two or three of the little furry creatures were in our sights blast away with a shotgun, hurriedly collect our booty and skedaddle.

*the green also took quite a hammering* :wink:
22:14 April 12, 2009 by kaze
It made me giggle. The Swedes are missing the point.

I've never eaten rabbit...They are quite bastardy animals so maybe I would.
22:25 April 12, 2009 by Lost Hammer
I had rabbit in Malta once and it was one of the best meals I've ever had! Had octopus at the same restaurant when I was there and accordingly it was probably the worst meal I've ever had!
22:35 April 12, 2009 by Miss Kitten
"Well, sweetie, I hope you like what the Easter Bunny brought you."

"Now we're going to have the Easter Bunny for tonight's dinner."

I ate rabbit once a long time ago but it was stewed together with a bunch of other stuff so I don't remember what it tasted like.

(Probably like chicken)
22:45 April 12, 2009 by Phyllis Clemens
Oh my! I have eaten and enjoyed rabbit in the past, but at Easter?!? That's just wrong...
23:08 April 12, 2009 by Eddymu
Rabbit is some alright tasting fare... on another note, what do rabbits have to do with easter anyway? I remember some said they bring the eggs – ok, but from where? Did the rabbit nick‘em from the chicken??

/ponder
23:38 April 12, 2009 by Roger O. Thornhill
Easter bunnies are delicious, especially the chocolate ones.

The dark chocolate is actually good for your health.

People have eaten rabbit for as long as rabbit and humankind have cohabited this planet. Our diets have become very narrow. Many animals (even the cute ones) and parts of animals that have been eaten in centuries past are now somehow forbidden.

From deepest darkest Detroit:

Detroit retiree, 69, supplements his income by living off the land

Detroit - When selecting the best raccoon carcass for the special holiday roast, both the connoisseur and the curious should remember this simple guideline: Look for the paw.

"The paw is old school," says Glemie Dean Beasley, a Detroit raccoon hunter and meat salesman. "It lets the customers know it's not a cat or dog."

Beasley, a 69-year-old retired truck driver who modestly refers to himself as the Coon Man, supplements his Social Security check with the sale of raccoon carcasses that go for as much $12 and can serve up to four. The pelts, too, are good for coats and hats and fetch up to $10 a hide.


Incredibly this piece was accomplanied by the "Coon Man", an old black guy with white hair and a straw hat (just out of Huck Finn) holding a sign reading "Fresh Coons".

The lack of judgement continued in the article which the writer disclosed that the Coon Man hunting the coons with a .22 rifle.

For you not making the connections, it is illegal not only to hunt in Detroi but also to shoot a firearm.

No word on whether he was subsequently charged, his rifle confiscated or what he noe does to supplement his income (which the IRS and Social Secuity office were probably interested).

But I digress.
01:45 April 13, 2009 by Miss Kitten
Easter in its original form had nothing to do with Jesus.

The rabbit and the egg are fertility symbols (for obvious reasons) left over from when Easter was a celebration of the return of the Vernal Equinox, which was the most fertile time of the year.

Eventually the Catholics undermined the former pagan holiday (just like they turned Mid-Winter into Christmas) by declaring it to be the day Jesus rose from the dead. The old pagan symbols remain, however.
13:22 April 13, 2009 by jacks
Easter known for mass rabbits' slaughter ???
13:33 April 13, 2009 by Miss Kitten
Apparently, yes. In Sweden that is.
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