In Vendée, what happens to coypu once captured?

On the side of a building of the Bourgneuf Bay Joint Union (SMBB) in Beauvoir-sur-Mer (Vendée) there are large white bins. Nothing special a priori and yet inside are stored hundreds of… dead coypu. Throughout the year, Agathe Pasquiet and her colleague Raphaël Lebaillif collect coypu trapped in the Breton Vendée marshes. 300 trappers, spread throughout the territory, participate in regulating the population of coypu and muskrats, two invasive species that endanger the balance of the marsh ecosystem.

After being deposited at collection points, the bodies of the coypu are then stored in these refrigerated bins. “We are obliged to keep the bodies cold to ensure they remain in good condition” , explains Agathe Pasquiet. Thus, at a temperature oscillating between 0 and -15 degrees, the bodies of the coypu are stored for a week because every Monday, the renderer comes to harvest the bodies.

All parts of the coypu are “recycled”

The operation is quite simple, but still requires a strong stomach. “When the bins are opened, it is not uncommon for an odor to emerge. , reveals Agathe Pasquiet. With time, you get used to it. » So, the knacker takes turns lifting the bins and tipping them into a large skip attached to his truck. It is the company SecAnim, a subsidiary of Saria, which takes care of the treatment of coypu and muskrats from the Breton Vendée marshes. The carcasses go to their factory in Benet, in the south of Vendée.

Once there, the bodies of the rodents are dissected and separated into thirds. “The flesh and bones are reduced to flour. The latter is used in particular in cement factories to start fires. It’s a very good fuel.” , explains Thierry Pellerin, renderer in charge of collecting coypu. “Then, the oil present in the bodies of the coypu is sent to Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) to serve as biofuel for the boats of a large distribution group. Finally, the water is sold to farmers who use it for spreading.” , informs the latter. In winter, the largest specimens and those in good condition are also the business of a resident of Sallertaine. The latter collects the hairs and sends them abroad to make handbags.