THE EASY OPOSSUM.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1549, 19 September 1912, Page 4

THE EASY OPOSSUM.

PLEA TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE. Writing to a M'ellington resident on tho subject of opossums, a South Canterbury working man who has had experience of tho animals both in Australia and New Zealand says:—"l should oppose tho protection being taken wholly off opossums for theso reasons: Tlie 'opossum is cue' of the easiest exterminated animals that I know of, having no cunning like tho rabbit; ho will take any bait of poison providing it is sweet; will go into any trap or noose without the same being in any way disguised; he is one of tho slowest increasing animals that there is, having only one young per year, and thev do not start brooding until 12 months old"; so that they are 18 months old as a rule boforo tho young one is able to find for itself. Tho damage they do is very small to tho orchard, as a man with'half a dozen rabbit traps would bo able to clear any bush around an orchard in a short time; as I said before, they have no cunning, and arc tile easiest trapped animals in the world. That a license fee of say £2 should be charged to pay for rangers to! see that the law was carried out in each district where opossuming was carried on; that a great number of men of practical experience would be able to make a very remunerative three months' work (that is, if the open wason was proclaimed for three months; viz. { May, Juno and July), when other work is as a rule very slack. That a lesson should bo taken from the Tosmnnian Government as regards the open and the close seasons. If the protection' is taken wholly off, I venture to say they , will practically he extinct in a couple of years; if every Jack, Bill, Tom and Harry are allowed to slaughter them all the year round, and call it sport."