The East Anglian Film Archive, the first and largest Regional Film Archive in England, was established in 1976. Since 1984, EAFA has been owned and operated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich (UEA), to support research and work to preserve our moving image heritage. More than 250 hours are freely available online as examples of the wide range of film which attracts interest the world over.
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The Three That Got Away - The Story of the Coypu in Great Britain
The large-scale operation to exterminate coypus from the East Anglian countryside in the 1960s. An ‘Another World’ documentary for Granada.
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Overview
PLEASE NOTE: This film contains scenes of the killing of coypu which some may find upsetting. This ‘Another World’ documentary tells the story of the nocturnal, primarily aquatic, vegetarian creature, and the trappers determined to exterminate them.
In the 1960s farmers throughout the East of England demanded action to control the numbers of coypu inhabiting the countryside. From just four escaping coypu (from a Norwich fur farm) numbers have grown to a staggering tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of the furry rodents. Whilst some would argue the coypu are fascinating and dear little creatures, the Ministry of Agriculture declare them a menace to the countryside, and a large-scale operation to exterminate them comes into force.
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