Louisiana Mosquito Ranch
Forced to Close
Thibodaux, LA | Louisiana's State Health Department has padlocked the facilities at Boggy Acres Tannery, the last remaining mosquito ranch to operate within U.S. borders.
Authorities say the action was necessitated by the rise in the number of West Nile virus cases throughout the South, despite protests by Boggy Acres that their herd was not to blame.
Wrangler Scott Duvallier insisted, "We've always run a squeaky clean operation here. If there are some sick skeeters out there, I guarantee they don't have our brand on them."
Duvallier said he could only stand by helplessly as an estimated four billion head of mosquito were destroyed by Disease Control agents.
The tannery, a family-owned business and a Thibodaux institution, had been wholesalers of mosquito meat and pelt products since 1851. The closure will put 850 people out of work, adding to Louisiana's already high jobless rate.
Duvallier said, "Boggy Acres survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, and the invention of polyester. But I guess you can't fight City Hall."
He doubts the ranch will ever be able to reopen. "Now all these people's jobs will probably end up going to Mexico. It's a damn shame."
