It happened in the countryside of the territory of Ceneselli (Rovigo), where the nutrie problem is becoming really important. Here too, as now in many areas of the province, there are literally rodents take over the countryside and, in addition to creating significant damage to agricultural land, eating a large part of the sown, with theirs long burrows often dug into the banks of ditches and canals, they seriously endanger the seal of the same by creating a water emergency and also endangering the life of those who, passing on the banks, perhaps with heavy agricultural vehicles, risks being crushed.
The nutria is a rodent mammal native to South America, introduced in Europe and consequently in Italy in the early nineteenth century due to the demand for its fur called “beaver fur”, for commercial purposes. The specimens escaped or released by man have led in a short time to a significant increase of its diffusion in the wild due to the fact that it reproduces practically all year round. In recent days, a farmer in the area, while he was reaching his field with his tractor, saw the embankment on which he was passing collapse and, only for a skill in maneuvering, did not get crushed.
“We have repeatedly contacted the Adige-Po Reclamation Consortium to communicate the state of the banks of the canals of our campaign but we never received any answers - explains the farmer's wife - We also asked them to come and restore the collapsed embankment, but if my husband wanted to continue to go to work his Earth, he had to think about it for himself".
A problem, that of the proliferation of otters, still too underestimated and little taken into consideration and which risks, if the bodies in charge do not find as soon as possible a solution to contain the thing, to cause damage that could be irreversible. The females of this rodent, in fact, can give birth 2-3 times a year, on average 5 young which in turn reach sexual maturity within 6-10 weeks. It is easy to think how, if left free and undisturbed in our countryside, this within a few months, literally manages to invade the entire territory (Polesina 24).