As possum fur prices reach beyond $100 per kilo we are seeing an increasing number of possumers operating throughout the country. On one side this is fantastic in that commercial pressure is helping reduce possum numbers. Possumers are using modern techniques which reduce the amount of by-kill e.g. placing traps on platforms out of reach of weka. On the flip side most commercial possumers operate along ridgelines, tracks and gullies that are easily accessible and allow the most efficient coverage of the country – which makes their activity easy to see. Many of the ridges that I tramp in Marlborough are getting a lot of attention and are covered in possum carcases. They don’t last long as the pigs usually come in and get them but it is pretty horrible to be stepping around piles of skinned or plucked carcases all the way up a ridge. This phenomena does provide an interesting value conflict for us. Ultimately, the duration of the carcases, stench and flies is short term and usually abates within a week or two, while the beneficial impact of the possum control on birdlife plays out over years. LNT for possumers? Perhaps the best we can ask for is that they take all their gear out of the bush when they are done.
Rob Maclean, LNTNZ board member
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