Raccoon meat a popular treat in Ill.

CHICAGO, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- As the raccoon hunting and trapping season nears its close in Illinois, the varmints are increasingly turning up on dinner plates across the region.

Hunters and trappers can obtain special permits from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that allows them to sell their culled nuisance wildlife for about $5 per skinned carcass, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

Word-of-mouth market about availability of the animals, which can weigh up to 15 pounds, has spread from southern Illinois to the Chicago suburbs and parts of Wisconsin and Missouri.

"We get a rush just before Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and the Super Bowl," said Joe Wilson, who estimates he has sold about 2,500 skinned raccoons to more than 50 customers.

Raccoon meat has also made its way to Chicago's upscale Moto restaurant, where chef Homaro Cantu created a dish that makes the raccoon look like road kill, complete with a yellow stripe down the center of the plate.

"It was a real eye catcher," Cantu said. "The fact that the dish looked like it was run over was really cool."