"Trapping over bait is more efficient than shooting but it is too time consuming and costly in areas with high nutria density " Chabreck added. With no market for nutria pelts the parish would have a difficult time finding trappers to do the job even if this alternative was selected.
Besides some animal activists have protested the use of traps to control nutria in the parish because of the pain and suffering that might be inflicted upon the animals. But these activists have not protested the nightly shootings conducted by Sheriff Lee's SWAT team. "I'm not sure why " said Winter. "The general public is more accepting of shooting than other proposed control methods like traps or poisons. The perception is that shooting especially when done by marksmen like the SWAT team causes less suffering."
"The only rational technique for removing a significant proportion of a high density population is poisoning " Chabreck said. His report recommended a rodent poison zinc phosphide which kills quickly with only one dose and breaks down almost immediately when dissolved in water making it less dangerous to the environment other animals and people than other poisons. But this proposal made by others as well as Chabreck elicits a strong negative response from the public.
Those who oppose the use of zinc phosphide might not understand the recommendation Chabreck said. His report suggests that sweet potatoes coated with vegetable oil could be covered with the poison and placed. at night on floating rafts in a canal. Although nutria are attracted to the coated potatoes these look unappetizing to people and are unattractive to other animals which are primarily carnivores (meat eaters). The sweet potatoes are too large to be swallowed by birds or small reptiles. Since this poison contains an emetic any person or animal that ingests it except rodents will vomit. (Nutria like other rodents can't vomit.) By floating the bait on rafts at night the poison would be in use when most people and pets would not be around to accidentally take it and the uneaten matter could be removed from the canals before daylight.
The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) counters Chabreck's recommendations. The habitat should be manipulated by removing the cover and den sites before selectively reducing the population using live traps suggested Paul Irwin HSUS president. This suggestion is not feasible in Jefferson Parish because the canals must be maintained for drainage and lining them with concrete which would alter the habitat is prohibitively expensive according to Winter.
It appears that Jefferson Parish may have a problem. What can the people do? Everyone has an opinion but to date only the SWAT team has been able to take any action. Some groups have been trying to promote increased sales of nutria fur in European markets but animal activism all over the world has depressed consumer purchases of fur garments. Others have solicited interest from famous chefs like Paul Prudhomme and sought permission from USDA to market the meat. "We have to find a method that is guaranteed to remove only nutria " Winter said. "It would be best if the state would step in and start a broader program - nutria aren't limited to Jefferson Parish."
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