What is the relationship between the nutria and people?

Answer 1

That depends; are you talking areas where the nutria are native, or invasive?

I know that nutria were introduced into N America from Argentina by fur ranchers in 1899-1930's in the hopes of accessing a new market. When businesses began to fail, the nurtia were simply let loose and have since been causing all sorts of problems in native wet lands by out competing with native wildlife and using their resources, and to farmers who's crops are destroyed by the hungry nutria.

Now, for some reason, people don't think to hunt and eat them nearly as much as they should as Fish and Game all over urges people to try and hunt their numbers down. Simply put, they want these guys gone. They're quite edible, as they eat only grasses and reeds and the occasional tuber and are an easy kill.