Taxidermy is not a foreign object in the halls of Congress, but is a rare sight in committee hearing rooms. On Tuesday during a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife hearing, Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., brought along a stuffed nutria, which he referred to as a “swamp rat.”

Harder used Nellie, the name given to the stuffed animal by the California congressman and his office, as a prop to draw attention to H.R. 3399, a bill he introduced back in June. The legislation would add California to a list of states that receive federal funding to control the spread of nutria, an invasive species in California.

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