February 27, 2008 | Sex & Society

Swedish heraldists want cock

A move by Sweden's Armed Forces to remove the penis from the image of a lion on their coat of arms has raised the ire of the country's heraldists.

"They stepped over the line when they made alterations to the badge without consulting us. It was a clear breach of copyright," Henrik Klackenberg advised The Local.

Initial reports suggested female soldiers requested the offending phallus be snipped from the image, but Karl Engelbrektsson, the Commander of the Nordic Battlegroup, finally admitted it was he who ordered the lion be neutered. He felt the change was needed based on  UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, and did not feel a cock was appropriate with so many women around the world falling victim to sexual assault in war zones.

Klackenberg just wishes he had been consulted first. "We could make the dimensions a bit smaller, for example. Once we were commissioned to create a similar symbol for Swedish Customs. When they thought it was a bit much they sent it back to us and we just shrank the organ."

Poor kitty.