As Italy struggles to deal with burgeoning populations of an introduced giant rodent, 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.

大约一个世纪前，意大利从南美洲引进河狸鼠用于养殖，以获取其皮毛。

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

但随着河狸鼠皮毛的衣饰不再流行，很多河狸鼠逃脱或被故意放生，现已泛滥成灾。

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

它们在意大利北部波河流域的平原上大肆繁殖，农民抱怨它们毁掉了庄稼，它们打的洞穴还破坏了防洪堤和路堤。

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.

杰雷德卡普廖利市市长米歇尔•马尔基建议说，只有意大利人肯吃河狸鼠，才有可能控制它们的数量。他自己已尝过河狸鼠，称味道有点像兔肉。

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 prospect of tucking it what looks like a cross-between a beaver and a large rat.

这条提议发布在其脸书主页后引发了社交媒体热议。一些人表示赞成，而另一些人一想到要吃长得既像海狸鼠又形似大老鼠的河狸鼠就感到厌烦。

“The debate about coypu has become bonkers, without coming to any resolution of the problem,” the 31-year-old mayor wrote.

这位31岁的市长写道：“关于河狸鼠的讨论越来越离谱了，得不出任何可行的办法。”

“Here’s my idea – let’s start eating them in restaurants and at village food festivals.”

“我的想法是：让我们开始在餐馆和乡村美食节上食用它们。”

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, broiled or braised coypu.

不论这个主意有多招人厌烦，这位市长坚称自己没开玩笑，他说意大利一些地区的居民已经赞同烧烤或者炖煮河狸鼠来吃。

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

这位市长说自己是从实践出发做出的提议，他已经吃过河狸鼠。他说：“味道比兔肉好。”

One enthusiastic backer of the idea wrote on social media: “Coypus are very clean animals and they are herbivores. I’ve tried them a few times. They should be cooked in a stew with onions or baked in the oven. I agree with the mayor – it’s better than rabbit.”

一名热情的支持者在社交媒体上写道：“它们是干净的食草动物，我已经吃过几次，应该和洋葱一起炖，或者用烤箱烤。我同意市长所说的，比兔肉味道更好。”

Animal lovers were less enamoured of the idea. “Here’s another genius who thinks he can resolve a problem by killing defenseless animals. And they elected him mayor,” wrote one critic.

动物爱好者们对这个提议有些不快。一位批评者写道：“又有一位天才认为可以通过捕杀毫无防备的动物来解决问题。人们还选他当市长。”

Coypu breed prolifically, with a female capable of giving birth to up to a dozen young at a time.

河狸鼠繁殖能力很强，一只雌性河狸鼠一次最多可以生育12只小鼠。

No one knows how many coypu there are living wild in Italy.

没人知道意大利到底有多少只野生河狸鼠。

In the region of Emilia-Romagna alone there are believed to be around one million, while Lombardy has a population of around 1.3 million, with the regional government calling for 300,000 to be culled each year.

据信仅在意大利艾米利亚•罗马涅区就有大约100万只河狸鼠。伦巴第大区有大约130万只，当地政府呼吁每年捕杀30万只。

In their native range they are eaten by alligators, large snakes and eagles.

它们在南美洲生活时会被短吻鳄、体型较大的蛇和老鹰吃掉。

A lack of such predators in Europe has contributed to their rapid population growth.

由于欧洲缺少这些捕食者，导致河狸鼠数量快速增长。

They have also colonised part of the United States, with 18 states reporting significant coypu populations.

它们还入侵了美国一些地区，已有18个州报告河狸鼠数量巨大。

There, too, is a debate over eating them. In Louisiana, where they have thrived in swamps and wetlands, the state’s wildlife and fisheries department suggests a range of recipes, from coypu fettucini and soup to coypu a l’orange.

美国也出现了吃不吃河狸鼠的讨论。在路易斯安那州，河狸鼠在沼泽和湿地大量繁殖，该州的野生动物和渔业部门向人们建议了多种河狸鼠肉食谱，有河狸鼠拌意面和鼠肉汤，还有香橙酱河狸鼠。