[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.

[katana]

Had to look it up, but what you in Australia call a "possum" and the native marsupial we have here in N. America are two different species. Ours are noted for pretending to be dead as a defense strategy ("playing possum") and if you find one on your property it will allow you to pick it up and take it away (personal experience, hissing at you as you do it, BTW).

They're beneficial since they consume ticks in large quantity. Tick borne illnesses such as Lyme Disease are a real problem for pets and humans here.

Good on you for taking out your version, especially in NZ where they must be an invasive terror to the native birds.