As Italy struggles to deal with burgeoning¹ populations of an introduced giant rodent², a mayor has come up with a novel solution - eat them.

 

从国外引进的一种体型较大的啮齿动物河狸鼠泛滥成灾，意大利正疲于应对，而此时一名市长想出了一个新办法，那就是，吃掉它们。

 

Coypu were introduced to Italy a century ago from their native South America to be farmed for their fur.

 

But many escaped or were deliberately³ released after wearing fur fell out of fashion and the species is now thriving.

 

They have fared particularly well in the flatlands of the Po valley in northern Italy, where farmers complain that they devour⁴ crops and destroy levees and embankments by digging burrows⁵.

 

Michele Marchi, the mayor of the town of Gerre de' Caprioli, has suggested that numbers could be reduced if only Italians can develop a taste for coypu meat. He has tried it and says it tastes a bit like rabbit.

 

His proposal, launched on his Facebook page, has caused a lively social media debate, with some people in favour of the idea and others revolted by the prospect⁶ of tucking it what looks like a cross-between a beaver⁷ and a large rat.

 

However unpalatable the idea, he insisted that he was not joking and said there were regions of Italy that were already warming to the idea of tucking into roast, broiled⁸ or braised coypu.

 

The mayor said he was speaking from practical experience, having eaten coypu meat. "It's almost better than rabbit," he said.

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