An order of squirrel, sir? How London’s ‘invasive species supper clubs’ aim to rebalance the ecosystem by serving everything from grey squirrel to American signal crayfish
A London restaurant is exploring whether eating invasive species such as grey squirrel, American signal crayfish and Japanese knotweed could help fight their spread, but scientists remain sceptical.
McMaster would like a legitimate supply chain and for the species to become “an accessible resource” for chefs.
But the idea “isn’t to popularise these invasive species so there’s so much of a demand that we allow them to become more invasive”, he stressed. “That would be a terrible thing to occur.”
China targets invasive plants and animals in 3-year crackdown
China targets invasive plants and animals in 3-year crackdown
He hopes instead to “bring back balance within the ecosystem and then we stop eating them”.
But experts fear that the remedy will simply aggravate the problem.
“Consuming invasive non-native species isn’t something that I would encourage,” says Karim Vahed, professor of entomology at the University of Derby in England.
The invasive specimens also pass on a fungal infection, “crayfish plague”, to which the American species are immune.
And their predators – otters and herons – are too few to stem their spread.
“At the moment, the signal is just spreading out of control,” warned Vahed.
The smaller, native crayfish, which has seen an 80-90 per cent decline, is now at risk of extinction.
In a small stream flowing through a park in Derby, central England, visitors can easily see the swarms of American signal crayfish.
One of Vahed’s students found the first specimen there 16 years ago and within five years the invasive species had completely replaced the native one – and simply taking the largest ones does not help contain the spread.
“You’re just helping the young American signal crayfish to survive,” explained Vahed. “So removing them and eating them isn’t a solution.”
“It could potentially be a good idea,” said knotweed specialist Karen Bacon, who found humour in the “very human response” of thinking “this plant is causing a problem, it is edible … let’s eat it!”.
“But on the other hand, there are risks,” added the professor, who is based at the University of Galway, western Ireland.
Disturbing the plant can actually enhance its growth, she says, adding that any project would need to be undertaken with experts “who understand the plant”.
“There is some potential in there, but it needs to be done carefully,” she said.
A London restaurant is exploring whether eating invasive species such as grey squirrel, American signal crayfish and Japanese knotweed could help fight their spread, but scientists remain sceptical.
McMaster would like a legitimate supply chain and for the species to become “an accessible resource” for chefs.
But the idea “isn’t to popularise these invasive species so there’s so much of a demand that we allow them to become more invasive”, he stressed. “That would be a terrible thing to occur.”
China targets invasive plants and animals in 3-year crackdown
China targets invasive plants and animals in 3-year crackdown
He hopes instead to “bring back balance within the ecosystem and then we stop eating them”.
But experts fear that the remedy will simply aggravate the problem.
“Consuming invasive non-native species isn’t something that I would encourage,” says Karim Vahed, professor of entomology at the University of Derby in England.
The invasive specimens also pass on a fungal infection, “crayfish plague”, to which the American species are immune.
And their predators – otters and herons – are too few to stem their spread.
“At the moment, the signal is just spreading out of control,” warned Vahed.
The smaller, native crayfish, which has seen an 80-90 per cent decline, is now at risk of extinction.
In a small stream flowing through a park in Derby, central England, visitors can easily see the swarms of American signal crayfish.
One of Vahed’s students found the first specimen there 16 years ago and within five years the invasive species had completely replaced the native one – and simply taking the largest ones does not help contain the spread.
“You’re just helping the young American signal crayfish to survive,” explained Vahed. “So removing them and eating them isn’t a solution.”
“It could potentially be a good idea,” said knotweed specialist Karen Bacon, who found humour in the “very human response” of thinking “this plant is causing a problem, it is edible … let’s eat it!”.
“But on the other hand, there are risks,” added the professor, who is based at the University of Galway, western Ireland.
Disturbing the plant can actually enhance its growth, she says, adding that any project would need to be undertaken with experts “who understand the plant”.
“There is some potential in there, but it needs to be done carefully,” she said.
