Possum Bounty- Cinema Advertising Slide

Description

Possums are a massive problem in New Zealand. Today, over 30 million of the mammals eat through around 9000 tonnes of vegetation a night. This bounty scheme from 1951 was the first large scale attempt to control the pests. Hunters brought in the possums ears and a strip of fur to claim their two shillings and sixpence bounty. Eight million such bounties were claimed in the ten years the scheme ran.

But the plan was failure. Three quarters of the possums 'killed' were found on farms, near towns or even as roadkill on the highways. Few were caught in the forests where the greatest need was. When the scheme began, possums occupied just over half of the country. When it ended, over three quarters of Aotearoa had possums. Hardly the mark of success!

This slide was shown in Paraparaumu cinemas- but slides just like it would have also been screened in Horowhenua. Note the mistake in calling the animals 'Opossums'- these are the American marsupials, but the name was commonly used here! 

Identification

Object type

Image

Date

1950s