01 the Battlelines series
Updated: Nov 5
When I was a young teen I had a fairly ordinary experience (for a kiwi kid), which profoundly influenced me. I participated in a father and son possum bust; a nighttime culling on a local farm to curb the invasive possum population. Each boy in the group, with over a dozen onlookers with torches spotlighting the action, had the opportunity of shooting a possum from the tops of a tree - a rite of passage for a young man. I was excited to undertake this and when my turn came, gun raised and the possum within the sights… I realised that I couldn’t pull the trigger. I instinctively knew I’d gain no pleasure killing this small furry creature, an act that seemed by the shining faces of those around me was for the fun of it. The rest of the night, followed by my long walk back to the car, was full of shame, the crowd seemed very pleased with their adventure (my father made no comment upon my own perceived shortcoming).
Since that early experience and empathy felt for that single lone possum, I have comprehended more of the issue that invasive introduced species have inflicted within New Zealand. The decimation of the indigenous plants, leaf by leaf, the flowers, leaf buds, fruit, eggs, birds, insects and snails will lead to the total elimination and the extinction of some of our distinctive native flora and fauna.
I became involved with Pestfree NZ; restoring the native wildlife from extinction by trapping and killing the local possum and rats until an allotted, designated area is culled. I take no pleasure in this grim task as the introduced animals which have been deemed ‘pest’ were brought here by your fore-bearers and mine. The Pacific rat was introduced by early Maori settlers and soon stoats, rabbits, cats, possums, hedgehogs, etc followed with the European settlers. I believe the wildlife unique to New Zealand is worth saving and I believe that means removing the threat that our ancestors placed here.
Comments