Brushtail Possums By Elizabeth Kolbert

This article, written by Elizabeth Kolbert, talks about a huge epidemic that takes place in New Zealand where rats and possums are becoming a threat to its inhabitants. The brushtail possum, one of the biggest culprits to exist in this disaster, has been stripping trees of their beautiful greens and flowers for reasons unknown. The “invaders” are described as anything with fur and beady eyes, and according to Zealanders they are killing off most of their fauna.
Many citizens of New Zealand are outraged at the invaders for all of the grief they have made. A sixty-four year old man named Adshead and his wife Gill own a farm north of Auckland. The farm stretches a whopping thirty five hundred acres where they raise both goats and cows alike.

In this article there are many people who believe that the rodents and possums need to be exterminated because they are ruining all of the balance in New Zealand. A man who goes by the name of James Russell, an ecologist, believes that rats are New Zealand’s biggest problem. While I would say the biggest problem would be the cats because they are a larger predator and are causing the most damage since they are more of an instinctive predator then the rodent. Although, there are more rodents than cats, cats pose more of a threat with their feline instincts. If a house cat was put into a survival situation, the cat would utilize its former instincts like tigers and lions in the wild would use. Whereas the rodents, who are higher in numbers, could only ruin so much of New Zealand’s animals and land due to their size and strength. That being said, either way I do not believe that the use of traps and lethal A24 contraptions are necessary in dealing with the cats and rodents. I believe there should be non lethal ways of subduing the animals. Instead of killing animals in a trap, the animals should be lured into a trap that temporarily sedates the animals. During the time the animals are subdued they will be transported to a controlled area of land where they will have the appropriate habitat that suits each species that lives there. By keeping the