Rodent for dinner? California officials urge residents to eat invasive nutria

Wildlife officials are encouraging California residents to add a rodent to their daily diet as part of efforts to control the invasive species’ population.

The nutria, a large, semi-aquatic rodent native to South America, is threatening the state’s ecosystems by destroying habitats and outcompeting native wildlife. The nutria’s harmful impacts have prompted wildlife officials to promote hunting and consumption as possible solutions.

“Eating invasive species can help protect native wildlife by reducing their numbers and limiting the damage they cause to ecosystems,” reads a statement released in late February by Erin Huggins, a spokesperson for the Fish and Wildlife Service. “However, it’s not a complete solution and should be combined with other conservation efforts to effectively control these species.”

According to the California department of fish and wildlife (CDFW), nutria were originally introduced to the US for the fur trade but have since established themselves in as many as 18 states. The rodents can grow up to 40in (102cm), which is nearly as large as a beaver or a small dog.

They were believed to have been eradicated from California in the 1970s, but a spike was detected in 2017, especially in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta and surrounding wetlands.

Federal wildlife officials are trying to make the consumption of nutrias somewhat enticing by drawing similarities to the taste of rabbit or dark turkey meat. Resources, including recipes for nutria dishes such as stews and chilli, are available on Nutria.com.

Nutria are highly destructive to marsh environments. The rodents eat up to a quarter of their body weight in vegetation daily. Their feeding habits not only destroy native plant life but also destabilize soil structures, which can result in heavy erosion and habitat loss for threatened and endangered species.

To mitigate their impact, CDFW has removed about 5,500 nutria from California wetlands as of early February. The highest concentration of these rodents were found in Merced, Fresno, Stanislaus and Solano counties.

The call to eat nutrias came during National Invasive Species Awareness Week in late February, a time dedicated to calling attention to the urgency of addressing the harm of invasive species before they cause further ecological and economic damage.

Some other species wildlife officials encouraged residents to hunt, catch and cook were the northern snakehead, the green iguana, several species of carp and wild boars.