The Muskrat in Ireland

The muskrat Ondatra zibethica (L.) weighs about 1-1.5 kg when adult, is aquatic (being found in marshes, lakes, ponds and streams), almost entirely herbivorous and is prized for its fur, which is known commercially as musquash. It is native to North America but became established in the wild in other parts of the world in the twentieth century largely through escapes from fur farms. This occurred in Britain around 1930 and the animals were eventually extirpated in 1937 (Corbet and Southern 1977) in a trapping campaign (Warwick 1934, 1940) instigated because of the damage to river banks and consequent flooding caused by their burrowings.