German hunters cull over 131,000 nutria in 2024/2025 as invasive species damages dikes and wetlands
German hunters culled 131,157 nutria in the 2024/2025 hunting year, a 1,700% increase from two decades ago, as the invasive species threatens flood defences and wetland ecosystems.
German hunters culled 131,157 nutria in the 2024/2025 hunting year, the German Hunting Association (Deutscher Jagdverband) reported at the Federal Hunters' Day in Suhl, Thuringia. The figure represents a roughly 1,700 percent increase compared to two decades ago, as authorities step up efforts to control the invasive South American rodent.
Cull numbers by state
In Brandenburg, hunters shot 2,575 nutria in 2024/2025, down from a peak of 7,119 in 2020/2021. Saxony-Anhalt recorded 7,019 culled animals, more than four times the 1,625 taken in 2014/2015, though below the record 9,689 in 2020/2021. Lower Saxony had the highest cull numbers in the previous year, according to the association.
- 2014/15
- 1625
- 2020/21
- 9689
- 2024/25
- 7019
- 2020/21
- 7119
- 2024/25
- 2575
Environmental threat
Nutria destroy reed belts, harming bird, fish and amphibian populations. They also burrow into dikes, undermining flood defences. The North German Plain along the Rhine, Weser, Ems and Elbe rivers provides ideal habitat for the species.
The species is considered invasive, so Germany is obliged to control the population.
National obligation
Because nutria are classified as invasive, Germany is required under EU regulations to limit their spread. The nationwide cull has risen steadily, with the 131,157 animals taken in 2024/2025 marking a new high. The association presented the data at its annual gathering in Suhl.
