Thread: Possums

Hey guys, I'm new to this site and hunting in general so I need a lot of advice.

I want to start trapping possums to sell plucked fur for money, experience and some well needed time outside the city.
I need to know what I should know before I get started and how everything works.
The big problem I'm having is what the doc thinks of possum trappers. Would they allow me into the area to set leg hold traps? Or would they find them inhumane?

Can anybody here give me their possum plucking experiences and basic information on how to do it? Things like 'how many possums make a kilo of fur' and 'how often you find traps with no possums in them.'
Also, how is the doc going with 1080 these days? Surely they will let me set leg traps if they are allowed to gas wildlife?

All information is appreciated, thanks guys.

The search feature is your friend

There are 12 threads with the word "possum" in the title.....

Also have a look at the "small game" section of the forum

Welcome Pativis to the forum.....cant really help with the possum questions, but good luck getting any joy out of DOC........

Is the place you have in mind full of possums?

I think it takes 12 decent sized possums to make a kilo I cant rememer.

Up the hunter valley there is a guy that goes in for 6 weeks at a time trapping possums, with leg hold traps, on DOC administered public land. as far as I know they are happy as long as someone is getting rid of the possums for them without any monetary outlay from DOC, could be different depending on the region you are in though.

Originally Posted by Toby

Is the place you have in mind full of possums?

I think it takes 12 decent sized possums to make a kilo I cant rememer.

I agree takes 12 good sized possums for about a kilo of good fur ... you will get around $100/KG ..plenty places willing to buy it and skins

Up here I average 15 possums to the kilo which is $125.00. No problem getting DOC permits for trapping.

Jeepers. I need to look into this possum fur buisness myself.

There are trap lines in just about every regional council and doc area around the Welly region.

Get hold of your local GWRC ranger, they are a good place to start, and can put you onto the right DOC rangers.

Most of the "easy" areas already have guys working them, that is going to be your biggest hurdle.

Use regulation traps, and don't be one of the turds leaving animals to suffer for days.

Try some suburban fringe areas, or door knocking with lifestyles and farmers.

12 - 15 possums will get ya a kilo.
Leg hold or cage work well. Bang them on the head and pluck em while there still warm. Be carful not to put too much belly fur in or they wont like you very much when you go to sell it. (but a bit is all good )
Welcome to the forum mate, lots of info on here. Lots of good buggers too.

I have a friend who is in pest control. He does it full time, 6-7 days a week with most days clearing trapps done by about 11am. He reckons the fur alone gets him about $40,000 a year. Worth while once you find a good place.

yip agree... 13 to 16 possums gets u a kilo. don't use possum pluckers. do it by hand.

Originally Posted by Pativis

Hey guys, I'm new to this site and hunting in general so I need a lot of advice.

I want to start trapping possums to sell plucked fur for money, experience and some well needed time outside the city.
I need to know what I should know before I get started and how everything works.
The big problem I'm having is what the doc thinks of possum trappers. Would they allow me into the area to set leg hold traps? Or would they find them inhumane?

Can anybody here give me their possum plucking experiences and basic information on how to do it? Things like 'how many possums make a kilo of fur' and 'how often you find traps with no possums in them.'
Also, how is the doc going with 1080 these days? Surely they will let me set leg traps if they are allowed to gas wildlife?

All information is appreciated, thanks guys.

Try some Farmers to see if they will let you on to trap possums im sure they will oblige you mate.dont go wasting time talking to doc unless you want to start plucking in 5 years time.number said on here a good less possums needed to pluck in winter(winter coats=thick) more in summer(thin coats).Start of with as many traps as you can get your hands on mate.I don't know how keen you are mate but I could show you how i set a line youd need to come up here.It is easy to watch which Is how I learnt its quites simple once you have the kit.

All you guys have been really helpful, thanks!
I know guys that know a lot of farmers, and I've contacted the doc incase I'm allowed to trap in a reserve closer to home.

So what parts of the possum should I pluck? Sniper mentioned that I shouldn't get too much belly fur, I'll only be plucking the belly a bit in the winter.
The head fur is definitely too short, but what about the tail? Is tail fur too thin or short?
I also want to make the most of the possum corpse. Apparently you can sell the carcass to have it made into fine cuisine in China or something. What else can I do to make a profit off the buggers, other than selling the fur?

Yep, what they said.

Also I just wanted to share my disgust from a walk ebf and I did ages ago - it was a very accessible, public walk and there was first a live possum in a trap at near mid day, then we saw countless carcasses on the track. Lazy, inhumane and just well lazy again!!! This walk was one that tourists and visitors to the region walk regularly. Piss poor effort in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Pativis

All you guys have been really helpful, thanks!
I know guys that know a lot of farmers, and I've contacted the doc incase I'm allowed to trap in a reserve closer to home.

So what parts of the possum should I pluck? Sniper mentioned that I shouldn't get too much belly fur, I'll only be plucking the belly a bit in the winter.
The head fur is definitely too short, but what about the tail? Is tail fur too thin or short?
I also want to make the most of the possum corpse. Apparently you can sell the carcass to have it made into fine cuisine in China or something. What else can I do to make a profit off the buggers, other than selling the fur?

Sorry mate for sounding like an asshole here, but have you seen a possum before?

They are grubby buggers - piss, cum and lovely smelly sex gland stuff will ruin the fur on the belly. Oh and babies live inside the female's pouch - you need to pop it's head off/stand on it/kill it some other way after you've killed it's mother. The fur on the tail is coarse and tough.

Eat the carcass yourself if you're hungry enough...