Trappers of the Barataria

Nutria Traditions

Jon and Jocelyn Donlon

Conclusion

The research and fieldwork on nutria in the Barataria Region revealed a rich history of waterway traditions. These traditions, so recently threatened by a failing economy for trappers, has been revived by Louisiana's Nutria Control Program. While the program remains vulnerable to charges made by animal rights activists, in particular for the trappers' use of leg-hold traps, it, nevertheless, has helped locals to remain active in family and cultural traditions.

Any demonstration of these traditions will, necessarily, involve some difficult questions about the use of traps, the disposal of many pelts, and the overall uncomfortable quality of trapping. No death to the destructive and fertile animals will be pleasant to contemplate. However, it can always be stressed that nutria trapping may be the only "politically correct" form of trapping practiced today. The creatures are, in the end, contributing to the destruction of the Louisiana coastline, and a dramatic reduction in their numbers is necessary for the coast's survival. Moreover, the program provides a supplementary income for fisherfolk, whose shrimping businesses have been hard hit by the importation of foreign shrimp and low market prices.

Public programs, including narrative stages and demonstrations, can provide an effective means for educating the general public about family and cultural traditions, and the relationship of these traditions to the Barataria region's economy and ecology.

Jon Griffin Donlon and Jocelyn Hazelwood Donlon are cultural anthropologists who work as freelance folklorists and tourism specialists (as Donlon & Donlon Consultants) in Louisiana and overseas. Together and separately, they have written numerous scholarly articles, and in 2001 Jocelyn Donlon published "Swinging in Place: Porch Life in Southern Culture." They can be reached through their website at www.donlonconsulting.com.

This article was written in 2004 for the Louisiana Regional Folklife Program, a branch of the Louisiana Division of the Arts sponsored by the University of New Orleans.