Nutria

The nutria (Myocastor coypus), also called the coypu, is a South American rodent related to beavers and cavies.

Pathways and Introduction
The nutria is normally imported to countries for fur farming. [2]

It was first introduced to the United States of America in the 1930s. [6]

The nutria's first establishment outside of it's native range was probably in France in 1882. The nutria was first brought from Belgium in the 1930s and escapees have since established populations. Wild colonies first appeared in Germany in 1935 after they first arrived in 1926. They were first reported in greece between 1948 and 1966. In Italy, nutria were first reported wild in 1960. In the Netherlands, they had become established in the wild by 1940. Nutria have been established in Poland since 1948. The first reports of nutria in Romania occurred in 1989. Small populations are present in northern Spain close to France, from which the nutria are believed to have migrated. This population has been present since 2003. Nutria have been present in Switzerland since at least 1999. [5]

50 nutria were imported into Japan in 1939 from France. It is thought many nutria were released or escaped after World War 2 and in the 1950s after demand for fur fell. [4]

Impacts
Nutria devour and damage reedbeds and other aquatic plants (salt marhses are often effected most severely^^^).This results in a loss of habitat for native species, as well as directly reducing the populations of the native aquatic plants. [4]

Additionally, nutria burrows result in structural damage to riverbanks. [2]

Coypu also eat crops such as sugarcane, alfalfa and root crops. [2/4]

Control and Removal Methods
Shooting and trapping are used to control and reduce nutria populations. [2] Import of nutria is also banned in some countries. [4]

The nutria was successfully eradicated from the United Kingdom over the course of 8 years from 1981 to 1989. [5]