METAIRIE, La. (AP) - For decades people have tried to devise
creative ways to kill Louisiana's iconic pest: the marsh-chomping,
canal-boring, fast-multiplying nutria. They shoot them, trap them
and gas them in their holes.
Jefferson Parish is widely known for the target-practice
approach. But budgetary constraints since Hurricane Katrina have
cut down on the nutria hunts. Parish officials are now working on a
new, two-pronged strategy.
They envision the parish government helping pay for deputies
toting .22-caliber rifles to visit the drainage canals more often.
Simultaneously, the parish plans to hire a trapper to eradicate the
creatures.
Jefferson's drainage director tells The Times-Picayune the new
initiative is needed because the post-Katrina slowdown in rodent
shooting has taken a toll along canals.

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