CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE OPOSSUMS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22888, 7 March 1949, Page 4

CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE OPOSSUMS

INTENSIFICATION of the war against the opossum is becoming a matter of national concern. From various parts of the North Island, at any rate, reports have come which reflect a mounting alarm over the damage these pests are doing to orchards, native bush, and to much of the planning for soil conservation. The depressing story of the depredations up the East Coast is now well enough known in this district, and it is to be hoped that the pressure from settlers for more effective methods of eradication, with the payment of a bounty as a feature, will finally stimulate a practical response from the Government. Apparently the Gisborne-East Coast people have close allies in Taranaki. It has been reported that the opossums there are doing such serious damage to native bush that fears have been entertained for the condition of reserves such as the Egmont National Park unless stern action is taken to keep the pests in check. The challenge in that area, it is considered, is greater than that of the goat. Whereas the goat is easily disturbed and hunted down, the opossum is hard to locate in the daytime and requires a special technique for putting an end to its nocturnal prowlings. Intensive trapping on a zoned system has been recommended as one means of preventing infestation to still more serious proportions. Obviously this wouldbe all the more effective if encouragement were offered by payment of a bounty. It was satisfactory to learn recently that the bounty method, first suggested by the Catchment Board in this district, is finding favour in other areas. There seems no reason why trappers should not be given this incentive concurrently with the survey now being carried out by the Department of Internal Affairs. The longer the scheme is kept in abeyance, pending the final conclusions of the investigators, the more quickly will the opossums breed and the greater will be the danger to trees and vegetative covering in general which; if preserved, may some day mean all the difference between a safety margin and a disastrous flood.