Thread: TB in possums - not many if any

Not surprised by that, I've killed, skinned and chopped up a few thousand possums, never seen one with obvious lesions, cysts or signs of TB. I have spoken with possumers who have though.

Uncontrolled stock movements is by far the worst culprit for TB spread.

Possums still need to be controlled, using TB as an excuse is now pretty debatable, we all know that. The fact that they eat our native bush and do a fair bit of damage is also something we know, hence the need for control.

Like any pest they need a variety of methods implemented to really put a dent in their numbers. One method alone won't work.

The "reasons" portrayed to the general public by DoC and the media for the most recent 1080 drops has shifted significantly though...from possums and TB being the "need", to a focus on "battle for the birds" and killing rats and mice.

In the near future I don't see a reduction in aerial 1080 operations, I would like to, but can't see it happening. One day hopefully they'll see that 40 odd years of dropping poison everywhere willy nilly, every few years, hasn't actually worked.

Hopefully we will see a shift to more focussed or aimed methods of eliminating pests, but with some of the shiny bummed office folk running DoC in charge, I don't see it happening soon.