[katana]

Possums are harmless and helpful little creatures. Pick one up and they'll just hiss at you. They devour ticks by the bushell and are largely immune to poisonous snake bites. As such they're a potential source for life saving anti-venoms.

But having watched a fellow in a kayak shoot black swans on Lake Taupo with a rifle mounted on forward facing tripod (I was with a friend on his boat trolling for trout) I'm not surprised there are Kiwis who hunt possums. Not much sport, but neither was shooting big resting black swans on a beautiful caldera lake.

[ShadowAce]

Possums are harmless and helpful little creatures.

Not if you raise chickens. Possums and Raccoons are both enemies. I hate them both.

[Man from Oz]

Katana,

Sorry, but you are full of $hit. Hiss? BS. Their teeth will rip your hand off. My old girlfriend’s cousin lost a smaller dog to a Possum. Tore him to shreds.

Kiwis hunt these VERMIN because they are not indigenous to NZ. Apart from their destruction of our native plants and animals, possums are also a major pest on farmland.

Go back to PETA or bone up on your knowledge.