The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has suggestions that help to curb the growing population of invasive species that resemble very large rats.
Nutria, an invasive species, is a large, semi-quantitative rodent that is increasingly found in American swamps.
As part of the National Invasive Species Awareness Week, which ended Friday, the federal agency has released a list of invasive species that Americans can hunt, catch and cook to control unwanted pests.
List topping: Nutrients that have grown in population and disrupted wetland ecosystems. The agency pointed out in its public recommendation that nutritionist hunting is not a perfect solution, but a beginning.
“Okay, how can I help?” the February 20th consultation said. “Nutria Gumbo. Their meat is lean, gentle and tastes like rabbits.”
Nutrients weighing 15-20 pounds are increasingly discovered along the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest, and the southeastern United States. Their exact population is unknown.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, they are native to South America, but were introduced to North America in the heyday of the fur trade in the 19th century.
A group of nutrients, known as colonies, can disrupt ecosystems and agricultural work by digging holes over a wide range and uprooting plants. Animal feeding habits can cause widespread erosion in wetland areas – something like “something from a disaster movie,” the Fish and Wildlife Bureau said on social media.
“Save the swamp and fry the nutrients,” the agency added.
Nutrias serves as a flavorful base for all types of dishes, according to Philippe Parala, author of Can't Beat 'Em, Eat' Em, a cookbook featuring recipes for 40 invasive species, including Nutrias.
“It was a crockpot nutria,” Parola said. “You get the back and put it in waste, including vegetables, beef soup, tomato paste, etc. And you get the perfect stew.”
As long as the meat is clean after hunting, cooking nutria is like preparing a wild game, he said.
Located at the end of the Mississippi River, the Venice, Louisiana community hosts its annual Louisiana Nutria Rodeo. This is a race to hunt and cook nutria, bringing them out of the wild on a mission to save bayous.
The rodeo, held in early February, attracted about 500 participants this year.
According to event organizer Robbie Carter, some hunters appear with “truck loads” of animals that die from neutria toss (occurring in the burrills at distance), nutria cornholes, and most of all, nutrient cook-offs.
“We have about six to seven teams,” Carter said. “They made tacos, made gumbo and made sloppy jaws with fresh nutria meat.”
“Tastes like chicken,” he added.
Parala said he is skeptical that public recommendations can effectively encourage more people to hunt Nutria. However, he wanted nutria dishes to be commercialized and prepared more frequently, not just as novelty.
He once said he cooked 20 gallon nutria gumbo at the rodeo and cooked it for participants to sample.
“Now soon,” he said.
