Tho Bang Village in Nghe An's Yen Thanh District is famous for rat meat. Local people said that they previously caught rats mostly to protect their crops. But then they found that they liked the taste of rat meat and rat hunting has gradually became a job as demand increased.
A local farmer, Le Van Xuan, said that the rat hunting season usually comes after rice harvesting time in October when the rats are fat and their meat tastes the best.
"There are many people joining rat hunting at this time and we're expanding our work in neighbouring districts of Hung Nguyen, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu and Nghi Loc," Xuan said. "We work through the night and I can catch up to 50 kilos a night. Our village has become a rat trading hub of the region."
The man said that rat hunters are very welcomed by farmers who would help show them good places to catch the animals.
"The work is easy except for us having to work at night," he said. "We can sell our catches easily to traders at between VND30,000-50,000 per kilo."
Another hunter, Ho Tinh, 60, said that they have to know about the habits of the rodents so as to decide where and when to arrange their hunting devices.
"We usually place the traps along the paths to the bushes which rats usually run through," Tinh said. "We now have many kinds of traps so this work doesn't require strength, just some skill and experience."
A local trader, Cung Dinh Mau, said that they bought between 500 kilos to one tonne of rats a day from local people.
"We're reselling the rats to other smaller traders or restaurants nationwide," Mau said.
Besides selling to traders who would sell the rats to restaurants, many local villagers also prepare rat dishes for sale at their homes with prices of between VND 50,000-80,000 per kilo.
Secretary of Tho Bang Village Party Committee, Cung Dinh Hoan, said that nearly 100 people in the village join in the rat hunting.
"We're encouraging this work," the official said. "It both helps to protect our crops and bring good income to local people.
