Rural pests moving in on cities

Possums eat native birds and attack pets. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Possums are invading central Auckland and making homes in apartment buildings.

Top Pest Control owner Allan Thompson said he had been laying traps in buildings on Symonds St and around Myers Park. "When I started 5 years ago I was catching 10 a month, now I'm catching 140."

He also noticed increasing numbers in Epsom, Kohimarama, Ponsonby and Remuera: "They come in from thickets of bush and visit people's homes after dark. They eat veges, native birds and lizards, scavenge from rubbish and attack pets."

Robert Gattsche, of Auckland Pest Services, had caught possums at Auckland Hospital and Auckland University in the past two years.

Auckland Council biosecurity manager Jack Craw said they had also been seen in trucks, containers and ceilings at building sites.

Thompson suspected the marsupials were making their way into the CBD as rural land was carved up for houses and knew of people who kept them as pets

"They think they're cute and cuddly but they're a wild animal. They let them out at night and off they go."

Keeping a possum as a pet is illegal without a permit from the Department of Conservation and can result in a $1000 fine. Liberating one carries a fine of up to $50,000.

DoC spokesman Chris Pitt said no possum-for-pet permits had been issued for at least three years.

Auckland Council parks manager Mark Bowater said possum control would be implemented in Myers Park.