Post by Soutpeel on Mar 16, 2017 14:33:36 GMT 7
South Korea demands public kill river rats on sight, not eat them
River rats have surged in popularity as a food source in South Korea but health officials asked the public on Tuesday to just hunt, and not eat, the rodents as the bile in their gall bladder are toxic to humans.
"The gall bladder and liver can be infected with zoonotic bacteria and parasites," ministry representative Noh Hee-kyong told the Korea Times.
The rats, known as coypu or nutrias, were introduced to South Korea from Bulgaria in the 1980s in the hopes of developing a fur ranching industry, but they quickly became a countrywide nuisance damaging crops and upsetting the native ecosystem.
www.rt.com/viral/380902-korea-stops-eating-river-rats/
River rats have surged in popularity as a food source in South Korea but health officials asked the public on Tuesday to just hunt, and not eat, the rodents as the bile in their gall bladder are toxic to humans.
"The gall bladder and liver can be infected with zoonotic bacteria and parasites," ministry representative Noh Hee-kyong told the Korea Times.
The rats, known as coypu or nutrias, were introduced to South Korea from Bulgaria in the 1980s in the hopes of developing a fur ranching industry, but they quickly became a countrywide nuisance damaging crops and upsetting the native ecosystem.
www.rt.com/viral/380902-korea-stops-eating-river-rats/
