New Zealand school under fire over possum-throwing contest

A New Zealand school has been criticised by animal rights groups for staging an 'immoral’ possum-throwing contest for students. The contest, in which students swung possum carcasses over their heads and hurled them across the playground, was unacceptable, the New Zealand Royal Society for the Protection of Animals said.

RSPCA manager Danny Auger said he had received three complaints about the competition at Colyton School, in the North Island, and would raise concerns with its teachers. While it’s technically not illegal, it’s morally wrong to throw a dead animal around.” Auger said.



“It’s about time that people wake up and smell 2010 and realise that these sorts of things shouldn’t be happening. It’s an archaic practice and it should be stopped.” He said if students were taught that throwing around possums was acceptable, they could do the same to pets such as cats.

Possums are protected in their native Australia but regarded as a pest in New Zealand, where the population exploded after they were introduced in the 19th century in an attempt to start a fur trade. The Department of Conservation said they threaten native bird species and delicate ecosystems.