The following letter was written to the editor of the Wanganui Chronicle on 2 April, in response to a letter from Tony Orman on 26 March.
Dear Editor
I’m writing in response to Tony Orman’s letter (26 March) where he makes some errors in relation to possum numbers and in stating “possums are no pest.”
The number of possums in New Zealand has been scientifically estimated to be 30 million in recent work done by Landcare Research’s Bruce Warburton, Phil Cowan and James Shepherd. Mr Orman’s hope that we only have 10 million would be lovely, but is unfortunately not the case. If he would like to disagree with Landcare Research’s current estimates he should do so with reference to their statistical models or their methods of data collection.
Dear Editor
I’m writing in response to Tony Orman’s letter (26 March) where he makes some errors in relation to possum numbers and in stating “possums are no pest.”
The number of possums in New Zealand has been scientifically estimated to be 30 million in recent work done by Landcare Research’s Bruce Warburton, Phil Cowan and James Shepherd. Mr Orman’s hope that we only have 10 million would be lovely, but is unfortunately not the case. If he would like to disagree with Landcare Research’s current estimates he should do so with reference to their statistical models or their methods of data collection.
As for quoting Landcare Research scientist Graham Nugent saying in 1994 that possums are not pests, I suspect that Tony Orman is being deliberately mischievous. Graham Nugent is a successful researcher of mammalian pest management and has made many important contributions to possum pest control techniques in the past 20 years.
In regards to possum consumption of our native vegetation, it’s not just how much they eat but also what they’re eating. Possums cause damage to our native vegetation as they selectively consume certain species e.g. mistletoe, rata, pohutakawa or kamahi resulting in catastrophic dieback, gradual depletion or inhibition of regeneration. This was all detailed in the 1994 talk by Graham Nugent, but was not quoted by Mr Orman.
The enormous impact of possum predation on our native plants and animals, and their role in spreading bovine TB more than justifies their status as a targeted pest in New Zealand.
You can find the reports mentioned above and other information about 1080 at www.1080facts.co.nz.
Kevin Hackwell, Trustee, Pest Control Education Trust
In regards to possum consumption of our native vegetation, it’s not just how much they eat but also what they’re eating. Possums cause damage to our native vegetation as they selectively consume certain species e.g. mistletoe, rata, pohutakawa or kamahi resulting in catastrophic dieback, gradual depletion or inhibition of regeneration. This was all detailed in the 1994 talk by Graham Nugent, but was not quoted by Mr Orman.
The enormous impact of possum predation on our native plants and animals, and their role in spreading bovine TB more than justifies their status as a targeted pest in New Zealand.
You can find the reports mentioned above and other information about 1080 at www.1080facts.co.nz.
Kevin Hackwell, Trustee, Pest Control Education Trust
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