Our latest design features the King of all Rats...the Nutria.
(Also known as Coypu, Swamp Rat, and Marsh-Muncher). Check out those nasty yellow orange teeth.
Pic from internet. These destructive boogers have wrecked havic on our state. I was amazed to read about all of the damage these rodents have done to our wetlands. Did you know that we have more than 4 million acres of wetlands, which makes our state the most diverse and productive ecosystem in the nation?
And the hungry Nutria have eaten there way through an estimated 80,000 acres of marsh according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife. Why does this matter?? Why do we need to protect our wetlands?? Well, there are quite a few reasons. I saw this list of the Top 7 on the marshdog.com website.
When researching a little more about these guys, I learned about how quickly they can multiply and start eating! I read that a mother nutria can have anywhere from 1-13 babies up to three times a year AND within the first few hours of birth, the babies are already eating plant growth. The state of Louisiana adopted an incentive plan under the Coastwide Nutria Control Program a few years ago for hunters wanting to make an extra buck. The going rate is/was around $4-5 dollars a tail.
A hunter would become licensed to hunt or trap nutria and then turn in all tails of what they killed. The very first year, over a million dollars was paid out to those participating in this program.
Another program executed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries involves trying to promote the consumption of nutria meat for people. What??! Eat a Nutria Rat- are your crazy?? hahaha
But, apparently, nutria is very lean and good for you! It's low in fat and cholesterol and there are minimal harmful microorganisms associated with it. Supposedly tastes like a dark turkey. Have you ever eaten Nutria before?? I know what you are thinking...But who wants to walk into Cotton and order a seared Nutria filet?!
And when doing research for this shirt, I came across a company in Baton Rouge called "Marsh Dog" that sells specialty Nutria treats for your canine. www.marshdog.com This would be a funny gift to send your dog loving friends.
Yum yum!! Hahah. It seems like they must do a pretty good business from what I can tell. So, we decided on the phrase "Save the Boot, Serve Nutria". Brent actually came up with the saying, and I just provided the drawing. We figure
serving it can mean to your family or to your dogs!! Lol.
So, here is our design.
Big thanks to graphic designer Jeff Smith for helping to give this tee its retro feel. I like to call it "Retro Rat" HA! Love the old school retro ads of way back when... Great thinking Jeff!
We printed it on an chocolate colored American Apparel 50/50 blended tee that is super soft. It has that worn look that we just love. We have it available in youth and adult tees. Here is the youth..
Mr P is shown here wearing a 2t.
And here is one of Brent by himself. He is actually wearing an Adult Medium in this tee.
Looks cute on both my boys :)
I also think this outfit would be adorable for the upcoming Bayou Superset in Baton Rouge. We are going to it with some friends and I can't wait!!
Throw on some boots, cutoffs and a nutria rat tee and your outfit def screams
Country Cool !!
And seconds before I took the above pic, Phoebe was crawling by...hahaha. We truly are a small family owned business...
These tees are available online at
www.mrpstees.bigcartel.com or at KSera in West Monroe. Adult is $28 and youth are $24.
Thanks for reading. Would love to hear your thoughts on eating Nutria...?? Would you eat it? Or serve it to your dog??
Love
Lissy
