Kinder cut for possums possible

Martin Van Beynen - 1 November 1991

Television New Zealand says it will axe an Earth Care advertisement claiming that burnt possum testes can keep possums at bay, if the biodynamic technique turns out to be no more than quackery.

The executive producer of the advertisements, Mr Ross Johnston, said from Dunedin that the item would be checked and taken off the air if it lacked validity.

It features a farmer who claims a solution of possum testicle ash prepared according to biodynamic principles and peppered around his property kept possums away from his land in an otherwise possum infested area.

The claims have been rubbished by the New Zealand Skeptic organisation. It has invited TVNZ and the public to trials conducted by the Forest Research Institute showing the solutions do not repel possums.

An institute animal ecologist, Dr Charlie Eason, said the institute had entered the January trials in a serious way with a small amount of funding from the Animal Health Board.

“It was impartial research on a very important issue because if the peppering did work it would be very important for New Zealand, which spends $8m a year on possum control.”

Dr Eason said the trials were conducted in close co-operation with the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, with the scientists observing formulas and lunar cycles as prescribed.

None of the repellant formulations tested had any repellant or behavioural effect on possums in the trials. Possums ate as much. bait from feeder stations treated with possum pepper as from untreated stations.

Mr Johnston said he was not embarrassed by the item because there was always difficulty with anecdotal evidence and scientific research.

“I can’t argue with the farmer who swears by the possum pepper or the scientific research. We have to continue to listen to the experiences of the individuals involved.”