Our Grandpa and later Father used to trap squirrels

Our Grandpa and later Father used to trap squirrels for us .

In 2010, I did a post on 1080, now the New Zealand Government is thinking of dropping them again. In New Zealand, possums are pests. They were introduced from Australia. Enemy number one is also a threat to our  pastoral farming, because the possum is the host and carrier of a lethal disease, bovine TB.

Thanks to Reader Wil for her possum post which inspired me to do it again.


photo shows an Australian possum. This is a special possum and is protected.

My daughter knitted these garment with possum wool. They are very warm and soft..

1080 is the brand name given to the synthetic version of sodium fluoroacetate - a toxic, odourless, white powder compound, which naturally occurs in plants, acting as a powerful defence. However the synthetic version, 1080, is far more potent and kills. New Zealand is the largest buyer of 1080 in the world, using over 80 per cent of the chemical produced.
1080 is distributed in laced bait via ground and aerial application by the Department of Conservation (DoC) and the Animal Health Board (AHB). It is mainly used to kill possums, however other ‘pests', including feral cats, rabbits, rats and stoats, are also targeted.
1080 is banned in several countries, including Brazil, Belize, Cuba, Laos, Slovenia and Thailand, as well as in some states of the United States where aerial distribution and its use on all mammals but coyotes is prohibited.

 Possum and rat invade nest (Source: Nga Manu Images) 


When I went to Australia,
the tour guide said a joke,
In Australia, the possum there is protected.
In New Zealand, we kill them.
http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/