birding-aus

Possum trapping and releasing

To: Peter Shute <>
Subject: Possum trapping and releasing
From: Bill Stent <>
Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2012 10:53:11 +1000
No, I didn't get the number plate, sadly.  I do know the company though.

I can't tell whether this is the company doing it as part of their
normal line of business (making this a repeat offence), or the woman
who happened to be driving the van having a possum in her own roof,
making it a one-off thing.


On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 10:31 AM, Peter Shute <> wrote:
> Is it likely that a landscaping company would see possum removal as one of 
> their functions? If so then this is likely to have been one of many releases, 
> and therefore should be of interest to the appropriate authorities.
>
> I would start by contacting the local ranger, and I'd would hope a phone call 
> from them might have the company rethinking their strategy even if it can't 
> be enforced. I wonder if they could force them to reveal who the client was.
>
> Did you get the number plate, Bill?
>
> Peter Shute
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From:  [birding-aus-
>> On Behalf Of Carl Clifford
>>Sent: Tuesday, 4 September 2012 10:01 AM
>>To: Bill Stent
>>Cc: <>
>>Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Possum trapping and releasing
>>
>>Bill,
>>
>>Not much you can do. You could report it to the relevant authority, and
>>they may decide to run with it. I don't think a Magistrate would give it
>>much court time though, as they would be unlikely to regard releasing a
>>possum into the bush much more harmful than releasing it in a back yard.
>>At least the apparent possum was apparently released and not taken cage
>>swimming.
>>
>>Cheers,
>>
>>Carl Clifford
>>
>>On 04/09/2012, at 5:52 AM, Bill Stent <> wrote:
>>
>>> I had an interesting - if very short - conversation on the bike ride
>>home last night.
>>>
>>> I was coming up the path from the Fairfield pipe bridge over the Yarra
>>(Melbourne), which passes through a bit of bush.  Ahead of me I saw a
>>woman emerge from the bush, carrying a wire crate.  I caught her just as
>>she was loading the empty possum trap into a van, with with the name of
>>a landscape design and construction company written in large letters on
>>the side.  I asked her "was that a possum you just released?"  She
>>paused for a moment, looked me up and down and said, "maybe".
>>>
>>> Without anything else I could do, I said "good answer" and rode off.
>>>
>>> According to the Department of Sustainability and Environment, here in
>>Victoria, "Possums may be trapped, but only to remove them from the
>>roof. They must be released on the same property within 50 metres of the
>>capture site. Licensed wildlife controllers are also authorised to trap
>>possums, (see Yellow Pages under pest control) but they will not
>>relocate them to another site."
>>>
>>> I have a possum trap and have caught possums inside my house, and have
>>released them at my front door. Where we were, there are no houses
>>within at least 400 metres.
>>>
>>> What can be done about this?  I know that what I saw cannot be taken
>>as evidence in anything, it's simply my word against hers.
>>>
>>> I wrote down the name of the company as she drove off.
>>>
>>> Bill
>>>
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