by Bob Walsh
The Fish and Wildlife Department has located 65 nutria here in beautiful San Joaquin County. Two of the little bastards were found in the Lathrop area. The other 63 were all trapped in Walthall Slough in Manteca.
These things are very rough on native plants and can damage levees so the county and the state are aggressively going after them. The state has over 150% of normal snow pack and it is anticipated that runoff this year could be substantial. Nobody wants flooded property due to non-native critters.
2 comments:
Nutria pelts have long been sought after by the fashion industry. Their met is eaten, but not by many because people consider them to be rats but they are not. The last price I could find for a pelt is around $8. They are fairly docile animals unless cornered. In South America they are called Coypu. In Louisiana they are called supper.
Sounds like a good project for the homeless. Issue pellet guns and pay them 15 bucks a pelt (subsidized by California taxpayers of course (more helpful than a bullet train to nowhere).
This could be a win-win.
Post a Comment