Merino Possum Consortium

Possum drawing by Chloe and Kathleen, Anderson's Creek Primary School, Victoria, Australia

Lanamania is a distributor for possum yarn from New Zealand.

Its website boasts: "Our passion for knitting, our love of nature and our New Zealand heritage all come together in one product...Possum handknit yarn of Zealand - the light and soft touch of New Zealand."
But this view of Australia's native animal is somewhat different to those of Anderson's Creek Primary School in rural Victoria, Australia.

On New Zealand's North Island at the Bay of Plenty, another backyard possum fur trader, BASICALLY BUSH, runs a thriving business slaughtering Brushtail Possums for profit. It's just like the good ol' days of the 19th Century.

It seems the preferred kill method is by shooting..."Be careful not to get rubbish into the bag, and that you don't end up dropping bullets or spent shells in."
Basically Bush's motto is: "SKIN THE BEST and PLUCK THE REST"

It claims"This exciting raw material that has revolutionised the knitwear industry in New Zealand. Possum fibre is referred to as 'possum merino' and is promoted as 'lighter than cashmere'.

Nichols (NZ) Ltd is a "supplier of quality tanned skins of New Zealand and Australian origin." It is based at 29 Wickham Street, Bromley, Christchurch, New Zealand and is a subsidiary of UK based L H Nichols Ltd.

Nichols slaughters Australian native possums for commercial profit.


Nichols (NZ) Ltd is a "supplier of quality tanned skins of New Zealand and Australian origin". It is based at 29 Wickham Street, Bromley, Christchurch, New Zealand and is a subsidiary of UK based L H Nichols Ltd.

A profiteer in New Zealand is culling the Australian Brushtail Possum for commercial yarn export. It calls itself the Merino Possum Consortium and has no ethical issue culling native animals from Australia, so what would prevent it seeing potential gain from culling Kiwis for down for sleeping bags?