Why were possums introduced into New Zealand?

Answer 1

This is because they spread the disease Btb to farm animals making them sick and causing a reduction in stock numbers and therefore a reduction in profits. They also eat native trees and birds eggs.

Answer 2

Possums are causing considerable destruction to New Zealand's environment, to which they were introduced in the 1830s (for the fur trade).

In New Zealand, possums are taking over native bushland, pushing out native species of birds, for which New Zealand is unique. Possums eat the birds' foods, nest in their trees, and are one of the greatest threats to native bird species. They have been recorded eating eggs and chicks from birds' nests.

Their feeding habits also disrupt the food supplies for native bats, lizards and even insects. They feed on the vegetation, reducing its availability for native species, and nest in the trees, forcing smaller species out. There are no natural predators of the possum in New Zealand, so their population has increased dramatically.

Possums strip the native plants of leaves, buds, flowers, fruits and seeds, meaning less chances of propagation. New Zealand trees do not have defensive chemicals of some Australian native trees, meaning the possums can continue to eat from one tree until the tree has been severely affected.

Many of these plant species are disappearing from the New Zealand forests, and allowing invasive non-native species to take hold of the forests.

Economically, possums are a disaster because they eat pastures and crops, resulting in loss of farmers' income. They also eat the young pines in pine plantations. The figure spent by government agencies on possum control in 2006 was $111 million.

For more details on the damage possums do to the New Zealand environment, see the related link below.

Answer 3

The first attempt to introduce the possum into New Zealand came in 1837, for the purposes of establishing a fur industry. They were brought from Australia to Riverton in Southland, but they did not adapt very well at this time. However, they were only successfully reintroduced in 1858.

Answer 4

The brush-tailed possum (not opossum) was introduced from Australia into New Zealand to start a fur trade there, in 1837. This fur trade was unsuccessful, but the possums thrived in a country that had no natural predators. They were re-introduced with considerably more success in 1858. There are now estimated to be over 50 million possums in New Zealand.

Answer 5

Possums are diggers. They dig for worms, grubs, any insect or larvae that live under the ground. A single adult possum will destroy a yard in a single spring and summer.Additionally, possums can carry a number of diseases, not the least of which is rabies.

Answer 6

The possum is native to Australia. It occupies a niche perfect for its food and shelter needs. It is not destructive to native bushland, but complements it, helping to pollinate native plants. It does not "push out" other native creatures or take their food source, but competes with them in the way it was designed to, and in a way that maintains the balance of the ecosystems in which it is found.

Answer 7

Sadly, the possum has become a national pest in New Zealand, and is found over the entire country in forests and woodlands.