My World Tuesday/save the world: Possums verses 1080

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http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/

This golden possum is a cousin of the less colourful possum that was introduced in 1837 from Australia. Now, there are 30 million possums in New Zealand - that's about 7 per person! Possums will munch through around 9,000 tonnes of leaves, berries and fruit every night.

Many trees in Australia have possum defences such as spines, prickles or poisonous leaves – ours don’t! Possums in Australia have a lot more parasites, and more predators than in New Zealand. They are a protected animal over there.

In New Zealand possums have no natural enemies. That is why possum numbers increased so fast. The possum is not protected in New Zealand, it is a pest. The possum is doing a lot of damage to the native plants, animals and birds.

When I was visiting the Currumbim sanctuary, the Aussies jokingly booed the kiwis for killing the possum.

In the 1940s, New Zealand declared war on possums.

Millions of dollars have been spent trying to get rid of possums to protect the New Zealand environment from possum destruction since.....
DoC staff have also been busy getting rid of possums in New Zealand's national parks and conservation land through baiting and trapping.
Farmers, conservationists regional councils, land owners and businesses have also been working hard by setting traps and laying bait to kill possums.
The staff at the Department of Conservation and Landcare have been doing research about possums to learn the best ways to kill them or stop them from having babies.

Four years ago, I visited an old farmer. He told me the poisoning of possums have improved the landscape. The once dying native pohutukawa trees were now flowering beautifully. Possum fur is even warmer than sheep's wool.

The scientist have developed a poison 1080 to kill the possums. 1080 is an animal poison used to control targeted animal pests, particularly possums. It is now the most common and most controversial poison for possum control. It has been used in New Zealand since the 1950s. It is especially lethal to mammals, although it also kills birds, amphibians and insects

1080 is the big issue, and it polarises the country. The anti 1080 groups around the country constantly protesting and fighting for the ban of 1080 DOC.

There was one this morning.

A 1080 protest just south of Hokitika on the West Coast has seen five people arrested for trespass this morning.

Eight police cars were called in to control around 50 people who camped out overnight, trying to block the access road to the planned drop.

Several were escorted off the property and the aerial drop went ahead anyway.

Protester Katie Earnshaw says they were told they were allowed to leave.

"Then all of a sudden the cops started grabbing people and arresting them."

Farmer Nelson Cook, whose land the protestors were on, said: "(It's) terribly disturbing that these people can come onto my land, abuse me, and hold up our whole operation for a day or two."

Four helicopters are working to cover 90,000 hectares in 1080 in what the protesters claim is the biggest drop they have seen.

I do not have a very strong opinion on this issue as I do not know enough. In a town, they even have a possum throw contest much to the anger of the greenies. But I am weary of using poison. A little poison may be harmless, but who knows up the food chain. If a bigger animal eats up a whole lot of the possum carcesses, what would happen to them.

This is a real case in West Malaysia. When you travel in the country roads where the palm trees are. You see lots of monitor lizards basking in the sun on the road. I asked why nobody is catching these monitor lizards as people do eat them. The answer given was: Rats eat the palm oil fruits. Man lay baits to kill the rats. Monitor lizards eat the poisoned rats. The monitor lizards themselves are full of rat poison. Therefore noone dares to eat the monitor lizards.

This site is put up by people who are very strongly against the 1080 dropping. There are nice video of the New Zealand country and wildlife. But please be warned of some of the graphics which may be disturbing to you. http://www.enufisenuf.co.nz/