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Nutria are classified as a Nuisance Animal in most Parishes in Louisiana.
They were brought from South America in the early 1900's as a trapping option,
Nutria are almost the pinnacle of 'self-replicators' ... And where none were in Louisiana roughly 80 years ago ...
There are literally millions of them present now ... Enough that they drastically alter an ecosystem.
They were brought to trap and trade ... But supply and demand factors in the market ...
Along with perfect breeding conditions with limited threats ... Made their pelts practically worthless.
The State Wildlife and Fisheries Department put a bounty on them ... But even that is not doing much.
Trapping them requires a lot of gear and effort ... Shooting them is rather easy.
However ... Bullets over water can be dangerous ... And a shotgun will make a mess ... Plus, you better be quick ...
Because they will sink when you kill them.
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I like the idea of harvesting the tails for maintaining lease rights for alligators.
Alligator meat has become increasingly popular ... And if you haven't eaten it before ... It's actually pretty damn good.
For a long time killing gators was just something you had to do ... Protect yourself, your house, your family and livestock.
Those old days are long gone ... And protections were put in place to preserve and the alligator.
Then they figured out ... The alligator is an apex-predator ... And outside of something in the swamp eating its young ...
It doesn't have any other competition.
So ... The alligator population began to grow unchecked ... And protected.
Kind of like the nutria ... Because no one was hunting or trapping them ... They are kind of nasty ...
And not a lot of other critters eat them ... Because the swamp provides a decent amount of menu options.
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In light of all that ... Wildlife and Fisheries ... Finally opened up to the idea of relaxing restrictions on hunting gators.
Trying to keep from messing up again ... They developed leases ...
And hunters get tags according to the size and population of the lease.
The Native Americans ... Caddo, Choctaw, Coushatta, Nacogdoches, Keatchi, Kickapoo, and others ...
They naturally have the right to hunt the land and were given lease rights ... Where commercial hunters ...
Have to get their lease rights and tags through a 'lottery' system.
Native Americans also don't pay taxes ... And what they harvest goes to the same market as the commercial hunters.
A good-sized gator can bring you between $3000-$4000 each ... And we aren't talking about chunk change in a day's work.
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The way I see it ... And it is just my opinion ... If the Native Americans want to keep their leases for free and off the market ...
And since they don't pay taxes ... Or compete the same way in that market ...
Then if they want to have a connection with the land ... Which I really don't have a problem with ...
Then they can do what is necessary to maintain a healthy ecosystem ... They can do us all a favor ...
And kill some of those damn nutria rats ...
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