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Nutria Spread in Germany Jeopardizes Flood Defenses

New monitoring data have prompted calls for national hunting regulations to curb the rodents’ fast encroachment on vital flood defenses.

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Eine Nutria (Myocastor coypus) sitzt am Ufer der Spree.
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Die südamerikanische Nutria breitet sich in Deutschland weiter aus. Die invasive Art kam 2023 in 35 Prozent der untersuchten Jagdreviere vor, was einer Verdopplung gegenüber 2015 entspricht, wie der Deutsche Jagdverband (DJV) in Berlin mitteilte.

Overview

  • WILD survey results show nutrias in 35% of more than 23,000 hunting districts, marking a doubling of their range since 2015.
  • The rodents dig meter-long tunnels in riverbanks and dikes, undermining structural integrity and driving up flood-protection repair costs.
  • By voraciously eating reed beds along waterways, nutrias eliminate crucial breeding and nursery habitats for insects, amphibians, fish and birds.
  • High concentrations are recorded in North Rhine-Westphalia (60%), Lower Saxony (55%) and Saxony-Anhalt (50%), with urban prevalence reaching 93% in Bremen and 74% in Hamburg.
  • The German Hunting Association and conservation groups are urging inclusion of nutrias under the Federal Hunting Law and a ban on deliberate feeding to harmonize control efforts nationwide.