5 Invasive animals to the UK you should eat immediately

There isn’t a country on earth that doesn’t have some kind of plant or animal that shouldn’t be there, causing havoc amongst the native wildlife and sometimes costing the country millions every year to control. Fortunately for those who like hunting and gathering there’s plenty of tasty treats out there that you’d be doing the country a favour to eat as many as you can.

1) Muntjac Deer

First introduced from China during the early 20th century, the tiny muntjac deer has spread across most of the south and central areas of England, and can even be found in forest close to the Welsh border. Their size and high state of alert allow them to easily remain hidden, and they can exist in woodland without the local population even realizing it. Due to their invasive nature and the damage they cause to local woodland and food sources for other animals, they can be hunted all year round and don’t have a season like other animals do. The only problem is that the UK has some very strict trapping and shooting laws, and it could be quite difficult to get yourself into a position where you can legally hunt them.

2) Signal crayfish

The American signal crayfish was introduced to Europe during the 1960s because of its much larger size in comparison to the native and smaller white clawed crayfish. They started out being bred for their tail meat but quickly escaped and spread across the majority of the UK, affecting other countries similarly. The problems with signal crayfish is the females automatically lay eggs when they are introduced to a new body of water, and they carry a fungal infection that’s harmless to everything except the native white clawed crayfish, which it quickly kills. They also like to burrow into the banks of rivers, which can cause sections of the banks to collapse, and they will eat anything they can get their claws on, including other creatures, plants and each other. If you catch a signal crayfish while fishing, it’s illegal to put it back in the water and it has to be killed, which works out great for anyone with a trap and a taste for tiny freshwater shellfish.

3) Grey squirrels

They may be cute, but they breed at a much faster rate than the native red squirrels, and their higher population has reduced food sources to a point where the native population can no longer expand. They cause minor damage by chewing through the occasional wire or nibbling some woodwork they shouldn’t, but generally they aren’t that destructive. The danger comes from the native red squirrel population going extinct, and because they are classed as invasive, it’s legal to hunt and eat them all year round. Due to their tiny size, it’s legal to hunt them with an air rifle or trap them before killing them humanely, which means all you need is the landowners permission and you can go and hunt as many squirrels as you like.

4) Mediterranean mussel

These bivalves are native to the Mediterranean Sea where they exist in exactly the same way as the native mussels we have in the UK. Over the years they have managed to make their way into UK waters and are making themselves at home along the southern coasts of England and Wales. They can grow up to 14 cm in length and have much flatter and wider shells than the UK native mussels, the shell is also a dark brown instead of black which makes them easy to identify. As with all filter feeding shellfish, how safe they are to eat will depend on the conditions of the water they live in, so make sure you don’t gather any from waters close to industrial areas or sewage treatment plants.

5) Chinese mitten crab

Its unknown how these crabs came to UK waters as there doesn’t seem to be a source for their introduction, but whatever the reason is, they are here and creating breeding grounds around the UK. They aren’t actually much of a threat to most of the UK’s native crabs as mitten crabs are quite small and don’t seem to be affecting native populations much, but they are still an invasive species and should be eaten immediately. They can be easily identified by their furry looking claws and are known in China as a delicacy for the large amounts of roe they produce in comparison with other crabs. If you manage to find any and feel like helping out the native UK shellfish population by removing them from the water, then the best method of disposal is to steam them for 20 minutes before serving with ginger and soy sauce.