Magic bullet misses possum target

Abstract

For New Zealand forests, possums are the Black Death. Sadly, a plague of furry gluttons was unleashed on the New Zealand environment in the mistaken view that they would sustain a fur industry and therefore the economy. As with so many 19th century introductions, the few protesting voices were ignored in what was fatefully thought to be the greater interest. A bright idea went catastrophically wrong, crushing a unique fauna and flora through sheer weight of numbers.