Tuesday, November 19, 2002

But they're so cute and fuzzy!

Louisiana officials are so desperate to get rid of the invasive Argentinian rodent known as the nutria (Myocastor coypus ), they've started a new program that puts a $4 bounty on each one. According to this story, the goal is to rid the state of 400,000 nutria, also known as coypu, by the end of the winter. In the meantime, having failed to convince Americans that nutria are good eatin', the state is working to develop a market for nutria meat in Asia. You can find nutria recipes here, and don't forget to check out the NutriaSuite Theme Song, which is actually quite nice.

Update 2/2006: The NutriaSuite song has disappeared, but in its place, the ISW points you to Spinn's most excellent "O Nutria." An excerpt:

"Don't listen to naysayers and detractors Who say you're just a rat 'Cause a rat never tasted so good in gumbo And a pound of you's got 7 grams of fat"
Bonus points to Greg Peters and Scott Fischer for that punk coda at the end - definitely worth a listen.