Dutch Water Boards' Muskrat & Coypu Control Programme — Nationwide Dike Protection (Netherlands)

Muskrats and coypu, both non-native to the Netherlands, burrow into the dikes, canal banks and quays that protect much of the low-lying country from flooding, and graze on reed and bulrush vegetation that filters water and buffers wave action. A peer-reviewed study in the European Journal of Wildlife Research found that damage to Dutch dikes and levees increases directly with muskrat density, giving the control programme a documented flood-safety rationale. Since 1941, the Netherlands' 21 regional water boards, coordinated nationally through the Unie van Waterschappen (Dutch Water Authorities), have run continuous trapping operations using dedicated muskrat catchers alongside volunteer and community reporting.

The programme's stated purpose is to prevent muskrat and coypu burrowing damage to dikes, canal banks and quays and so protect the flood defences that keep much of the low-lying Netherlands dry. This flood-safety rationale is grounded in peer-reviewed research linking muskrat density directly to the extent of dike and levee damage, rather than being a purely precautionary measure.

Each of the 21 regional water boards runs continuous trapping operations using dedicated professional muskrat catchers, supported by volunteer and community reporting of sightings. Reported effort has grown substantially: roughly 400,000 person-hours and about 54,000 muskrats trapped in 2018, rising to 84,438 muskrats captured in 2025, a 28% increase on 2024, at an estimated annual programme cost of around €35 million. Between 2019 and 2023, the EU-co-funded LIFE MICA project, with a total budget of €3.02 million including €1.66 million from the EU, worked to improve detection and trapping efficiency across the Netherlands and neighbouring countries.

In 2025, the water boards trapped 84,438 muskrats and coypu nationwide, up 28% on 2024 and up from about 54,000 animals trapped in 2018. A peer-reviewed study directly links muskrat density to the extent of dike and levee damage, supporting the programme's flood-defence justification. Despite more than eight decades of continuous, well-funded effort, annual catch numbers are still rising rather than falling, indicating the programme functions as a permanent control regime rather than one moving toward eradication.

The programme is one of Europe's longest-running and most institutionally embedded invasive-species control efforts, backed by peer-reviewed evidence linking the intervention to its flood-defence goal and by transparent annual reporting from the water authorities. Its rising rather than falling catch numbers after more than 80 years suggest it should be understood as a permanent, ongoing control regime rather than a programme working toward eradication.