“Rats have almost no bones and are quite rich in nutrition. People at large don't wknow this cuisine fact but gradually they are catching up,” said Vijay Prakash, principal secretary of Bihar state’s welfare department.

He told reporters that nearly 50 percent of India’s grain stocks are eaten by the rodents in fields or warehouses.

Prakash said hunting and eating rats would battle soaring food prices by reducing such losses.

Rats are already eaten by some members of Bihar's extremely poor Musahar community.

The Bihar scheme to promote rat snacks includes providing restaurants and hotels with recipes to make rat eating a fine dining experience.

This is not the first time that Prakash has come out with such a creative idea. He once proposed recruiting eunuchs as security guards to maternity wards in hospitals.

Photo: Stock
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