BERLIN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - A German inventor has angered
animal rights activists with his answer to fighting the soaring
cost of fuel — dead cats.
Christian Koch, 55, from the eastern county of Saxony, told
Bild newspaper that his organic diesel fuel — a home-made blend
of garbage, run-over cats, and other ingredients — is a proven
alternative to normal consumer diesel.
“I drive my normal diesel-powered car with this mixture,”
Koch said. “I have gone 170,000 km (106,000 miles) without a
problem.”
The website of Koch’s firm, “Alphakat GmbH”, says his
patented “KDV 500″ machine can produce what he calls the
“bio-diesel” fuel at about 23 euro cents (30 cents) a litre,
which is about one-fifth the price at petrol stations now.
Koch said around 20 dead cats added into the mix could help
produce enough fuel to fill up a 50-litre (11 gallon) tank.
But the president of the German Society for the Protection
of Animals, Wolfgang Apel, said using dead cats for fuel was
illegal.
“There’s no danger for cats and dogs in Germany because this
practice is outlawed in Germany,” Apel told Bild on Wednesday in
a story entitled “Can you really make fuel out of cats?”
“We’re going to keep an eye on this case,” Apel said.
