Author Jeanette Winterson eats rabbit that ate her parsley, feeds entrails to cat

When a rabbit ate Jeanette Winterson's parsley, she fought back. She trapped it, skinned it and cooked it for dinner. And she documented the entire process on Twitter. But instead of celebrating her victory, audiences reacted as if she had "been boiling babies on the hill top."

The English countryside has been overrun with -- what some might call -- adorable, fluffy bunnies. But to gardeners like Ms. Winterson, they are better known as vermin.

"Normally, we can all live and let live," says Ms. Winterson. "But not when you wake up in the morning and you've got 50 rabbits on your lawn and they've started to chew their way through your garden."

Picture of eaten alive rose (8more!) All old fashioned varieties planted for bees. pic.twitter.com/mAjXAIJyay— JEANETTE WINTERSON (@Wintersonworld) June 17, 2014

So, Ms. Winterson decided she would start including more free-range rabbit in her diet.

On the AGA in cider with rosemary and thyme pic.twitter.com/OdezgxYFZQ— JEANETTE WINTERSON (@Wintersonworld) June 15, 2014

On a whim, she posted photos of the cooking process on her Twitter account, which included a photo of the disemboweled rabbit, and a shot of her cat nibbling at the entrails.

Oops. You need THIS photo. pic.twitter.com/1SvzqaYUUd— JEANETTE WINTERSON (@Wintersonworld) June 16, 2014

Since then, Ms. Winterson says she has received plenty of vitriolic comments, including death threats.

"It's quite interesting, the gentle, meek, animal-loving creatures will suddenly turn around and say, "Well, we're going to come 'round and hunt you and skin you,'" she says.

She was also accused of showing disrespect for the animal by sharing photos of the rabbit skin and meat online.

But her Tweets are no different than images of chicken parts in a cookbook, she says.

Despite the backlash, Ms. Winterson says the rabbit was delicious. She cooked it in broth of cider and rosemary.

Her cat loved it, too.