Not a bad idea.

Nutria control goes to the dogs
By Nikki Buskey
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 9:31 p.m.

Years ago, in an attempt to turn the destructive nutria into a commodity, state officials launched a $4 million campaign to get the swamp rat on the average Louisianan’s menu.

But even famous chefs and fancy recipes couldn’t stir up a Cajun hunger for nutria.

Now a Baton Rouge brother-sister team is hoping to turn slightly less discriminating tastes onto the lean, healthy meat.

Veni and Hansel Harlan recently launched Marsh Dog, a company that aims to provide dog owners with healthy, locally made dog treats that not only taste good but help to protect Louisiana’s wetlands.

“(Nutria) is such a lean, high-protein, low-fat meat source. It’s eaten by humans in South America and even in Louisiana,” said Veni Harlan, co-owner of Marsh Dog. “Since we’re both dog people, we thought, ‘This is perfect for dogs.’ It’s kind of a no-brainer.”

Originally imported from South America to be farmed for fur, nutria soon escaped into the wild and wreaked havoc on wetlands.

Nutria eat the roots of marsh plants, killing them and releasing their hold on the soil. This damages thousands of acres of marsh grass a year, increasing Louisiana’s coastal erosion problems.

In 2002, the state launched the Nutria Control Program, which pays hunters and trappers a $5 bounty per nutria tail to kill nutria.

The incentive worked, and in the 2010-2011 nutria season, 338,512 nutria tails worth $1.6 million were collected by trappers. Nutria damage to the marshes has been reduced from more than 100,000 acres a year to just more than 6,200 acres last year.

But because there is little value in nutria fur and meat, most of the animals go to waste, their bodies either buried or abandoned in the marshes where they were killed. Just 9 percent of the nutria harvested during the 2010-2011 season were used for their fur or meat, according to the Nutria Control Program. The remaining 91 percent, about 326,900 nutria, were killed only so their tails could be turned in for bounty.

Many environmentalists have hoped a market can again be created for nutria fur and meat to aid in keeping the species under control.

The Harlans launched their business with the help of a $7,000 grant from the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, which gives out annual grants to help combat invasive species in Louisiana.

“We realized that small groups, schools and individuals have great ideas that public entities like BTNEP don’t have time to do,” said Michael Massimi, invasive species coordinator with the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program. “The hope is that if Marsh Dog takes off, we’ll see an increased demand for nutria meat.”

Marsh Dog’s treats, called “Barataria Bites,” are named after the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary, the fastest disappearing land mass on earth. The treats also aim to be natural and eco-friendly, made from Louisiana products including brown rice, sweet potatoes and locally hunted nutria. They contain no corn, wheat, soy, chemicals, artificial coloring, preservatives or other additives.

Veni Harlan said she and her brother originally weren’t sure how people would react to the idea.

“We didn’t know what to expect or how much nutria to set aside,”

Veni Harlan said. “We figured we were going to buy all this meat and people are either going to love it or we’ll be feeding this to our dogs for a long time.”

They found sources of local nutria through the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which licenses trappers.

Veni Harlan said it’s been rewarding to learn more about Louisiana’s wetlands while developing the project, and people have been extremely enthusiastic about the nutria treats. She’s had people contact her from all over the country, she said.

“We’ve had tremendous and positive support. Environmental people love it because it helps the wetlands, and dog people love it because it’s a healthy treat,” she said. “People like that it’s homemade and a local product, especially with dog food recalls going on all the time.”

Veni Harlan added it’s been a great avenue to educate people about invasive species and the destructive impact they have on the environment.

“A lot of people don’t know that nutria are an invasive species or what they do,” Veni Harlan said. “This is an issue not just for Louisiana but for the entire country.”

Currently the treats are only available in Baton Rouge at Greco’s Pet Supply, Neighborhood Pet Market and All Pets Hospital. But Veni Harlan said their goal is to soon expand into the New Orleans market and get up an online store to sell the treats.

For more information visit Marsh Dog’s website at http://www.marshdog.com.

You get some for you dogs yet?

No not yet. Still working on them. I will be in BR this weekend so I might swing by one of the stores that have them.

Gary, you get Harley back yet? Are you home this weekend?

We are heading to a friends house that has a small dock on their pool to do some dock jumping. You are more than welcomed to come and bring Harley.

Actually anyone that wants to try dockdog jumping is invited to come. If anyone needs more info, message me. I'll give you the directions to their house.

Chad,

Harley is still at the trainer. He has at about 4 months left, the trainer is starting on hand signals and whistle commands now. I'm offshore till the 31st.

Damn, 4months. I hope he's learning someting.

Yeah he is doing really good. Trainer says he has incredible drive. He has already been there for about 3 months for basic retriever training. The trainer emailed me saying that he is at a point in Harley's training where he can start on advanced retriever training. So he may be done before 4 months for the advanced training. The trainer also said that Harley is one of the finest gun dogs he has trained in a while! So we will see how Harley turns out.

Went visit Harley last month to see how he was doing. When the guy took him out the trailer and showed him the bumper, that is all Harley wanted to do it get that bumper. He wasn't even worried that I was there, LOL.

Good deal. Can't wait to see him.

Yeah I can't wait to see how he has progressed since my last visit. Hopefully we will have a good season this year and we can give him a good work out! LOL