Researchers at Mendel University in Brno (MENDELU) have made an interesting discovery regarding beaver meat. Despite its rarity in culinary practices, they have found that beaver meat is indeed edible. As a result of their study, the researchers have developed practical recipes for producing safe and healthy beaver sausages and canned beaver meat. It is worth noting that beavers are protected in the Czech Republic, and hunting them is only permitted in areas where overpopulation is a concern and with the appropriate permits.
In the past, beaver meat was consumed more commonly. However, concerns over the potential presence of parasites have led to uncertainty among hunters about the safety of consuming the meat. Ondřej Mikulka, from the Institute of Forest Protection and Hunting at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at MENDELU, explains that hunters are allowed to consume the meat of animals they have hunted within their households. Nevertheless, in the case of protected animals like beavers, hunters are prohibited from selling or trading any part of the animal.
Currently, only a small number of beavers, around five dozen, are hunted in the Czech Republic each year. Hunting is primarily permitted in the Vltava river basin in southern Bohemia and a few locations in southern Moravia. According to the Czech University of Agriculture, the estimated beaver population in the country is around 15,000.
