New Zealand Pizza Billboard Features Dead Rabbits

Hell Pizza of New Zealand has unveiled a rabbit pelt billboard to promote their rabbit pizza, just in time for Easter.

The billboard, which is made from hundreds of rabbit skins, reads that the rabbit pizza is “new for Easter” and that it is “Made from real rabbit. Just like this billboard.”

On their Facebook page, Hell Pizza included additional information about the billboard:

A note on our billboard. As well as being a delicious meat, and even quite cute, rabbits are unfortunately also a noted pest that is damaging to the New Zealand environment, particularly in the South Island. For those who are concerned, we sourced these rabbit skins via a professional animal tanning company, who in turn sourced them from local meat processing companies where the skins are a regular by-product.

The New Zealand Vegetarian Society commented on the photo, writing, “While we’ve been pleased to have Hell’s vegetarian and vegan pizzas NZ Vegetarian Society Approved, impressed at their efforts to ensure avoidance of cross-contamination and can appreciate Hell’s humour, this is deplorable on so many levels. While we ‘approve’ Hell’s veg pizzas, we do NOT approve of this.”

Peta UK told HuffPost UK that Hell Pizza may find itself in trouble because of the billboard. “Hell Pizza may be in trouble for more than the skinned rabbits rotting on its unappetising billboard, because contrary to its claims, there is nothing ‘ethical’ about how the rabbits were slaughtered. Were the once-lively little animals who were ground into pizza toppings shot, strangled or snared? Were they gassed, or did they have their spines pulled away from their necks?”

Hell’s website lists the ingredients of their rabbit pizza as smoked wild NZ rabbit, toasted pine nuts, beetroot & horopito relish, cream cheese, rosemary, and garnished with fresh spring onions.