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Brushtail Possum facts

 By choosing a Possum fur product from Hideout New Zealand, you are helping save the birds and forests of New Zealand.


The New Zealand Brushtail Possum (sometimes known as Kiwi Bear) produces an opulent, luxurious fur which is 8% warmer and 14% lighter than wool. Its soft and silky fibre is hollow, so it retains heat and repels moisture, making it extremely warm to wear. It is regarded as the third warmest fur in the world, behind the Arctic Fox and Polar Bear.

However, the Brushtail possum is not a native of New Zealand and is destroying the birds and forests of the country in ever increasing numbers!

Why is the Possum a pest?
In New Zealand, the possum is an introduced species which has become a pest of mammoth proportions. So when you spoil yourself with one of our beautiful fashion accessories, you are also helping to protect our environment. At Hideout New Zealand, we believe that a commercially driven approach towards containing an environmental disaster is the only effective way to control the possum problem.

The Brushtail Possum (not to be confused with the American Opossum) was introduced into NZ from Australia in the 1800’s to establish a fur trade. In its native land Australia, the possum population is contained by dingoes, bush fires and less palatable vegetation. However in New Zealand there are no natural controls and the population is now of epidemic proportions.

It is estimated that there are approximately 70 million possums in New Zealand, and they devour nearly 8 million tonnes of native trees and vegetation annually. This equates to 20,000 tonnes or 4,000 truckloads every night!

They can also act as carriers of bovine tuberculosis, which may be transmitted to cattle and other farm stock.

In addition to destroying our native bush, the Brushtail Possum eats the eggs and young of native birds, including our own flightless bird, the Kiwi.

In New Zealand, it is illegal to . . .

  • Farm possums.
  • Keep possums as pets.
  • To use traps that cause pain and suffering (a native animal may accidentally get caught and needs to be released unharmed).
  • To sell or use any possum culled as part of the official eradication programme.
Only fur from licensed trappers/hunters are used by Hideout New Zealand.

Choose Brushtail Possum fur from Hideout New Zealand and help the birds and forests of New Zealand!