It sounds like an urban legend: giant mutant-looking rats roaming a city housing project.
Only there's a picture.
A photo making the rounds shows Housing Authority worker Jose Rivera minutes after he speared the humongous rodent with a pitchfork at the Marcy Houses.
According to the article, this is a Zambian Pouched Rat, an invasive species. Further reading informs me that these things can cause severe environmental damage if allowed to spread... a very real possibility.
Let's open a season on them, like Florida has already done with another invasive nuisance species.
At 4lbs or better, one Zambian Pouched Rat could produce enough meat to provide dinner to a ghetto family of four. Maybe stewed? Quartered and fried? Use some imagination.
Hold it!
I know what yer thinkin'..,
But if some rural folks can make a delicacy from possum, another rat-like species, then why not these? Just publish a few recipes to get the notion started and turn the project dwellers loose.
4 comments:
A friend of mine ate rat meat while visiting her father's family in rural (very rural) China a few years back. She described it as "sickeningly sweet".
Maybe the big ones are gamier, though...
Going off of my classmates and shipmates to have an idea as to what the adults in the projects may have... I don't think most know how to cook without things being pre-cut, let alone kill and clean.
Weren't nutria imported for food animals? Rabbits are basically big rats, too.... (I know, the classification was changed, but still.)
One strawberry tart without so much rat in it later.....
As Jules said, "and sewer-rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I ain't eatin' the muther-----"
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