Let kids kill possums for cash - Fed Farmers

Children should be allowed to kill possums for cash, group says
Federated Farmers national president has described the response to the practise as 'knee-jerk'.

Children should be allowed to kill possums to raise money for their schools, a rural advocacy group says.

A petition has been launched to outlaw the practise after baby possums were allegedly drowned in a bucket at a Drury School fundraiser in Auckland.

But Federated Farmers national president Katie Milne has described the response as reactionary.

"It's one of those knee-jerk reaction things that's really unnecessary, and it's a shame that people react in such a way that they think there's only one answer, which is to ban."

Ms Milne told Newshub that there should be no problem with the fundraiser going forward if everyone knows what they're doing.

"The people who are organising these fundraisers need to just check the correct advice from the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) before they set out, and put that in the rules so that everybody knows what they're supposed to be doing."

Such events can be carried out ethically, says Ms Milne.

"We do have to treat all animals with respect and make sure they're doing it in the correct way, so that it does offer the greatest amount of respect for the animal they're putting down."

In a statement, Education Minister Nikki Kaye said it would be unfair to the school to comment without knowing exactly what has happened.

Ms Kaye said at this stage she only has limited facts, and that as she understood it, MPI was looking into the incident.

She expected to be briefed on the incident over the next two days.

Newshub.