Yen Thanh field mouse '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 made 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 until the fur is evenly burned. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Field mice sold to customers must be alive. Only when customers request to be butchered will they be processed. 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 local people, due to the tradition of customers in the district often processing rats into dishes cooked with lemongrass and chili, or minced into balls... 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 roast it with straw for the customer. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Cung Dinh Mau - the owner of the largest mouse purchasing facility in Duc Thanh commune said: To have a source of field mice, every day, many groups of people organize to hunt mice in the fields inside and outside the province. Field mice are hunted all year round, but from August to October is the time when there are the most field mice, there are days when Mr. Mau's facility purchases over 1 ton of field mice. Due to high market demand, all field mice are sold out. 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 to the fields to catch flood rats. After purchasing, they sort the rats into two types. Accordingly, type one rats weigh 3-4/kg; type two rats weigh 5-7/kg. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to facilities that buy field mice in Duc Thanh, it is not difficult to distinguish field mice from house mice. Field mice are fat, with white fur on their belly and ebony fur on their upper body. House mice are thin, with yellow fur and smelly. The requirement is that mice must be alive before they can be purchased, so groups of field mouse hunters mainly use traps to catch them. Mr. Ha Van Son, a mouse hunter, said that catching mice is contributing to protecting crops and plants, so wherever he goes, he is supported by the government and people, because catching mice is done by setting traps instead of digging holes that affect the fields. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Hoang Khac Tho - Vice Chairman of Duc Thanh Commune People's Committee said: The profession of hunting rats in Duc Thanh has existed for a long time, but catching rats for goods has been around for about 10 years. Currently, in the commune, there are about 200 people who specialize in catching rats with traps in the fields, not only in the province but also in Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh . They form groups of 3-4 people, if they catch them in a far away field, they return once every 2-3 days. There are countless field rats, so in the commune there are currently 2 large purchasing points, in addition to about 10 small purchasing points. Every year, Duc Thanh people catch dozens of tons of field rats, earning billions of VND. The caught rats are partly butchered on the spot for customers to buy, and most of them are imported in cages of live rats to the northern provinces for consumption. Every morning, some places in the commune become crowded and bustling field rat trading points like a market. In the photo: Field rats are kept in iron cages, preparing to be transported to the North. Photo: Xuan Hoang

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