THE UNHAPPY OPOSSUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 3097, 23 July 1913, Page 8

THE UNHAPPY OPOSSUM.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, July 16. “ The unhappy opossum,” as the little creature was termed by Dr A. K. Newman, provided a few minutes’ discussion in the House this afternoon. The discussion arose on a question addressed to the Prime Minister bv Dr Newman. The query was: “Will tlie Government stop the indiscriminate slaughter of opossums, so that they may not be exterminated?” The Hon. Mr Massey replied: “The extermination of opossums in all districts where fruit is grown is desirable, and will not be prevented. The Government has under consideration the question of how far the animals can be protected within certain defined forest areas remote from orchards.” Dr Newman expressed dissatisfaction with the reply, and urged that there were a number of forests where opossums could be encouraged and grown with profit. He believed and was assured that the opossum would become a source of great wealth because of the value of its skin, and that some day its export trade would rival n value the fat lamb trade of New Zealand. —(Laughter.) “ Why should we exterminate these unhappy creatures?” he asked. “They will give us a large source of wealth. The whole evidence from Tasmania is that they do very little harm indeed. A conference of fruit-growers in the last few days wan asked about the opossum, and many of them said they did not object to it, as it did only a little harm.” He thought it most unsatisfactory to get the reply that the matter would be merely considered. In a few weeks the whole of the unhappy opossums would he slaughtered. Mr Isitt: Why are they unhappy? T)r Newman did not reply to the question, but concluded his plea by stating that many people in the South Island were anxious that opossums should be permitted to remain. Mr Atmore commended the reply of the Prime Minister, and enlightened the House considerably as to the ravages cf the opossums in the orchards and gardens in his district (Nelson). He stated that one of the animals when killed was found to contain nearly 21b weight of strawberries. Another had abstracted no fewer than 165 peaches from one tree. The Hon. Mr Fisher: Do they come right into civilisation? Mr Atmore: Yes; within two miles of the" city of Nelson. Mr Atmore also narrated an instance in which opossums had devastated eight or nine acres of nuts.