For those just arriving at this website, Framing Speciesism is a research activism blog that explores how we ‘frame’ (or think about) nonhuman animal species. Beginning with my doctoral research on brushtail possums in Aotearoa New Zealand, my work has since expanded to include a wider breadth of species, particularly those labelled as ‘pests’, ‘invasive’, or ‘unwanted’. I am developing Critical Pest Studies, an emerging subfield of Critical Animal Studies that examines how these labels are socially and politically constructed and how they shape public attitudes, policy, and the treatment of animals. Through this work, I challenge the narratives that justify the persecution of certain species and dedicate my research activism to serving animals of all kinds, particularly those who are discarded, exploited, or demonized.
October 18, 2023
While the history of possums in Aotearoa New Zealand is much more complicated than this brief overview; however, understanding their early history is important if we are to consider their contemporary framing.
Like many other species exploited for their fur, brushtail possums (herein: possums) were successfully introduced to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1858 to create a fur trade. The species, native to Australia, thrived in this new environment as they had plentiful access to food and no threats of predators (at least the nonhuman kind).
Unsurprisingly, the introduction of a new species to a place largely without other mammals, save for a few species of bats and marine mammals (Department of Conservation, n.d.-b), had a series of knock-on effects on the ecosystem. This is a tale replicated in many places and in many contexts around the globe and tends to not end well for most parties involved.
This initial introduction of possums was regarded as a ‘liberation’ (Ritchie, 2000) and was seen by various stakeholders as very positive for New Zealand’s economy, particularly as the rough terrain of the mountains was difficult to monetise. The Forest Service, which eventually merged with other departments to become the nation’s Department of Conservation, was “greatly in favour” of their introduction (Druett, 1983). This early sentiment led to possums being legally protected in the Animals Protection Act of the 1890s. For a short period of time, possums were proof that money can grow in trees.
However, by the mid-1950s, appreciation for possums waned. The species was officially declared by the Noxious Animals Act as a “noxious animal” (along with some wild deer, goat, and pig species). This declaration meant these animals could be kept in a captive setting but were barred from living in the wild where it was much more difficult to control them and their impacts. The possum fur trade continued, though instead of only being valued for its benefit to the economy, it was also linked as an activity that could benefit native species and the environment.
The concept of possums as ‘pests’ ramped up with ‘pest’ control and possum experimentation becoming much more prevalent. The New Zealand government, in an effort to reduce possum populations, created a bounty scheme where hunters were reimbursed per tail they supplied. The scheme, while bringing in 8.2 million possum tails, ended up not being as successful as it was originally intended as the possums which were most likely to be caught were from areas that were easily accessible, such as city limits and urban-peripheral regions – and not the remote regions which were seen as the most at-risk of possum foraging (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 2004).
Disdain for possums grew throughout the 1960s as the rise of environmentalism saw a societal shift in what species were valued (and which ones were not). Though possums were already disliked by this point, the realisation in the 1980s that possums were vectors of the bovine tuberculosis (Tb) signalled sudden shift in attitudes. Bovine Tb was a significant threat to the nation’s multibillion-dollar economies that relied on stable international trade of its dairy and beef (Ministry of Primary Industries, 2023).
Soon after possums were linked to bovine Tb, the government began sharing reports and grainy images as proof that possums predate on endangered species of birds and their eggs; however, possums are arboreal folivores that have a digestive system similar to that of horses. They use hindgut fermentation that is specifically designed for breaking down significant amounts of fibrous material (Tully & Mitchell, 2009). Critical Animal Studies scholar, Dr Annie Potts (2013), has critiqued that this shift in possum attitudes was more a “propaganda campaign” by New Zealand’s primary industries who were more interested in protecting the economy than native species.
It is important to state that this is not to say that a sick or starving possum would not show potential interest in a bird or their eggs, but that this is extremely rare behaviour and not normal for the species (Sweetapple & Nugent, 2007). However, reports funded by organisations such as the Department of Conservation (n.d.-a), Manaaki Whenua | Landcare Research (2020), and Predator Free NZ (n.d.), consistently state otherwise (and will be the focus of another blog post that examines the background of this).
The hatred of possums culminated with the creation of the Predator Free 2050 campaign in 2016 (New Zealand Government, 2016). The campaign was a national commitment to completely eradicate the “Big Three” predators (rats, stoats, and possums) by the year 2050. While many scholars and researchers see this campaign as an impossible task to realistically achieve (Linklater & Steer, 2018), the target remains squarely focused on possums.
Speciesism played an integral role in the forming of these values as this environmentalism was highly selective towards specific ‘pest’ species and ignored the array of non-native species, such as sheep and cows, which lived in the fenced paddocks of agricultural farmland (which are additionally sown with non-native grasses and controversially fertilised with “blood phosphate” from Morocco; Samaha, 2020). New Zealand’s “clean, green brand”, for which the nation markets itself to the world, is built off a history of speciesism, for which possums are one piece of the puzzle.
References:
Department of Conservation. (n.d.-a). Everybody’s possum: A pest of plague proportions*. https://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/science-and-technical/everybodyspossum.pdf
*This document has now been removed from the DOC website. A version of it is available here: https://shopforgood.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/everybodyspossum.pdf
Department of Conservation. (n.d.-b). Native animals. https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/
Druett, J. (1983). Exotic intruders: The introduction of plants and animals into New Zealand. Heinemann.
Linklater, W., & Steer, J. (2018). Predator Free 2050: A flawed conservation policy displaces higher priorities and better, evidence‐based alternatives. Conservation Letters, 11(6), e12593
Manaaki Whenua | Landcare Research. (2020, December 12). Eradicating the last 5%. https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/innovation-stories/innovation-articles/eradicating-the-last-5/
Ministry of Primary Industries. (2023, June). Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/57298-Situation-and-Outlook-for-Primary-Industries-SOPI-June-2023
New Zealand Government. (2016, July 16). New Zealand to be Predator Free by 2050 [Press release]. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-zealand-be-predator-free-2050
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. (1994). Possum management in New Zealand. https://www.pce.parliament.nz/media/pdfs/Possum_Management_1994_report.pdf
Potts, A. (2013). Kiwis against possums. In A. Potts, P. Armstrong, & D. Brown (Eds.), A New Zealand book of beasts (pp. 201-225). Auckland University Press.
Predator Free NZ. (n.d.). Possum facts and control tips. https://predatorfreenz.org/toolkits/know-your-target-predators/possum-facts-and-control-tips/
Ritchie, J. (2000). Possum: Everybody’s problem. Department of Conservation.
Samaha, A. (2020, November 19). How ‘blood phosphate’ has made New Zealand complicit in a foreign war. The Spinoff. https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/19-11-2020/how-blood-phosphate-has-made-new-zealand-complicit-in-a-foreign-war
Sweetapple, P. J., & Nugent, G. (2007). Ship rat demography and diet following possum control in a mixed podocarp—hardwood forest. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 31(2), 186-201. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24058144
Tully, T. N., & Mitchell, M. A. (2009). Manual of exotic pet practice. Saunders/Elsevier.
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This is a brilliant article thanks Emily!