I actually first learned of these from a segment (~ 9 mins in) on a comedy/travel show in which Dave Attell (US comedian) went along with with a nutria removal crew.
That was shot in Louisiana, where they were introduced not only for the fur, but also because their voracious appetites were used to control plant growth in canals and bayous.
There's actually a bounty on them at times (only about $4 each), but at least one guy has made tens of thousands of dollars hunting them.
Thanks for sharing the YouTube clip with us :) As you said, they are found in more parts of the US, and I'm sure whoever had the brilliant idea of releasing them in order to control plant growth is regretting it pretty badly at this point. It never really works out when we try to introduce a new species to solve an issue.
It's really cool that there's a guy who have made so much money from hunting them. $4 per tail is not really much, but I guess he is able to kill a lot every day then.
He turned in 9000 one time. The reward is about the same as STEEM right now, and you've certainly witnessed what lengths people will go to for that. ;)
Haha, that's a good point! It just amazes me how he manged to kill so many as that pace. There's a bit different though; I doubt people invest and speculate into buying nutria tails :P hehe.