Possum---- Friend or Foe?

This past weekend at a National Park exhibit, I read that the possum was initially introduced to New Zealand for its fur.  A fur pelt hung nearby with a sign, "pet the possum". I followed the instructions and felt the nice, soft fur.

The first week we were in TeKauwhata, we were invited for dinner at Dr. Knight's (30 acre kiwi farm).  We asked if there was anything they would like us to do when we stay at their home the last two weeks of our stay and Jeff responded, "Keep an eye on the possum traps and put the dead ones in the kiwi field.  The trap throttles the possum."  I remember thinking,  "How could they kill those cute little animals and I certainly hope we don't have to dispose of a dead one!"

This morning I took my cup of coffee to the deck and was greeted by this sight--------

You may be asking, "Why would anyone want to kill a possum?"  Here's the answer as described in The Lonely Planet, "No visitor to New Zealand will go for long without hearing about the damage done to the bush by the bad-mannered Australian import, the bush-tailed possum."  A list of mammal pests was given.  On the list were the possum, deer, rabbits, stoats, pigs, and goats.  They concluded that the most destructive by far is the possum.  70 million possums chew through millions of tons of foliage each year despite the DOC's (Department of Conservation) efforts to control them.  In addition to the DOC, Will is doing his part to save the kiwi vines.  Will successfully unloaded the trap, depositing the possum under the kiwis.  When Will picked up the empty trap we were startled by a loud snap.  Will chose to bait the trap with an apple at a later date!