The Yên Thành field rat 'market' trades tons of meat every day.

Clip: Xuan Hoang

In late September, the field mouse catching business in Duc Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district begins its peak season of the year. Therefore, when arriving in Duc Thanh commune, you will see many places selling field mice. Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha in Quyet Thang hamlet 2 said that field mice are usually caught by burning straw. A layer of straw is spread, then the mouse is placed on top, then covered with another layer of straw and lit on fire to burn until the fur is evenly burned. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Field mice sold to customers must be alive; they will only be butchered if the customer requests it. Photo: Xuan Hoang

After the fire is finished, people peel off the skin, cut off all the legs, tail, head and cut open the belly to remove all the intestines, customers take it home and just need to process it. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Currently, live rats cost from 40,000 - 60,000 VND/kg, after being butchered, they are sold to customers for 80,000 - 100,000 VND/kg. According to the people, due to the tradition of customers in the district often processing rats into dishes cooked with lemongrass and chili, or minced meatballs... so all they need to do is peel off the skin.. Photo: Xuan Hoang

However, there are also customers who cook rat meat like a fake dog, so after cleaning the fur, they burn it golden brown with straw for the customer. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Cung Dinh Mau, the owner of the largest rat purchasing facility in Duc Thanh commune, said: "To secure a supply of field rats, many groups of people organize daily rat hunting trips in fields both within and outside the province. Field rats are hunted year-round, but from August to October is the peak season, with Mr. Mau's facility sometimes purchasing over 1 ton of field rats in a single day. Due to high market demand, all the field rats we have are sold." (Photo: Xuan Hoang)

During the rainy and flooded days, the number of rats caught is higher, because in addition to professional hunters, many young people in the commune also go out to the fields to catch flood rats. After purchasing, they sort the rats into two types. Accordingly, the first type of rats weighs 3-4 rats/kg; the second type of rats weighs 5-7 rats/kg. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to rat buyers in Duc Thanh, it's not difficult to distinguish between field rats and house rats. Field rats are fat, with white fur on their bellies and dark black fur on their upper bodies. House rats are thin, have yellow fur, and smell bad. The requirement is that the rats must be alive to be purchased; therefore, rat hunters mainly use traps to catch them. Mr. Ha Van Son, a rat hunter, said that catching rats contributes to protecting crops and plants, so wherever he goes, he receives support from the authorities and people because he catches rats by setting traps instead of digging burrows, which would damage the fields. (Photo: Xuan Hoang)

Mr. Hoang Khac Tho, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Duc Thanh commune, said: "The rat hunting profession in Duc Thanh has existed for a long time, but catching rats for commercial purposes has only been around for about 10 years. Currently, there are about 200 people in the commune who specialize in catching rats with traps in the fields, not only within the province but also in Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh . They form groups of 3-4 people, and if they hunt in distant fields, they return once every 2-3 days. Field rats are incredibly abundant, so there are currently 2 large purchasing points in the commune, in addition to about 10 smaller ones. Every year, the people of Duc Thanh catch tens of tons of field rats, earning billions of dong. Some of the rats caught are butchered on the spot for customers, while the majority are shipped live rats in cages to northern provinces for consumption. Every morning, some places in the commune become bustling and lively rat trading points, like a market." (In the photo: Field rats are kept in iron cages, preparing for transport to the North.) Photo: Xuan Hoang

Source: https://baonghean.vn/cho-chuot-dong-yen-thanh-moi-ngay-giao-dich-hang-tan-thit-post277175.html