Illegal trap at Solway snares possum

SCARED: A trapped possum peers out from bush, its leg caught in a gin trap.

A Masterton dog owner was horrified to discover a possum struggling in an illegal gin trap in a reserve popular with dogs and children.

Sally Field was walking her dog Elle on Tuesday at the reserve at the end of William Donald Drive in Solway when they discovered the possum hiding under flax by the path, its leg trapped in the trap's jaws.

The trap's chain was loose and the possum fled, but was found again in the undergrowth.

She contacted Masterton District Council, who arrived to capture the animal and dispose of it.

The possum's front leg had nearly been severed by the trap.

Mrs Field said she walked in the reserve every morning and was disgusted someone would set a trap there.

"This is such a popular place with children," she said.

"They play here in the weekend - that's the concern for me.

"A lot of dogs walk here in the weekend."

She said she recognised the trap immediately.

"They are disgusting things - not only catching possums but anything."

She was relieved the animal had been found.

"I would have hated to think of it suffering."

A Masterton District Council spokesman said they regularly set humane traps in the reserve to catch possums.

A person who lays a gin trap could be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act, with penalties of up to three years' imprisonment or a fine up to $75,000.