Sam the trap man
On the 19th of August, Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) was privileged to sit down with Sam the Trap Man: hunter, fisher, conservationist, trapper & councillor. Catherine and Zane had an open and honest kōrero (talk) about all things nature, trapping and stories from his latest book. For the 80ish people present at this conversation, there was also time at the end for questions from the audience, including topics such as 1080, Predator Free 2050 and mahinga kai.
The kōrero (talk) discussed, both in the hui (meeting), and his pukapuka (book) raised an important question regarding trapping predator animals. The trapping mahi (work) that is done by RTH is important for protecting native species in Aotearoa, e.g Tūī, Kererū, native skinks and native trees. However, the species that are being trapped are also native elsewhere, so what does this mean for them?
Sam has an amazing example of these predator species in Aotearoa being taonga elsewhere: the Possum. The Possum is native to Australia and is of great importance to the Aboriginal people (Gibson, 2026). A child is gifted a Possum pelt from birth and then, with every birthday, another one is gifted, “...as the person grew, their cloaks grew with them.” (AIATSIS, n.d). The non-fur side of the cloak also tells a story “...making their possum cloak not only a lifetime garment, but a wearable life story” (Turner, A. 2017). With this in mind, the question then turns to the importance of education around trapping. The Possums in Aotearoa are treasured elsewhere, so how do we look after them, whilst still removing them?
Trapping education includes a multitude of factors: the purpose of trapping, the link to Predator Free 2050, correct handling of traps (health and safety), respect for the species trapped and cultural safety. Respect for the trapped species is a large topic but is covered well in Sam’s new book, A Bushman’s Book of Yarns, specifically pages 160-161, although it is a common theme throughout the entire book. Sam discusses “...we needed to whakamana animals through the process of death, not whakaiti them” (Gibson, 2026).Whakamana means to enhance their reputation, whakaiti means to undermine their reputation (Gibson, 2026). Thus, it is important to acknowledge the life lost, not belittle it.
To create some context, pre any human arrival, species like Kākāpō, Kiwi, Kōkako, Poweillaphanta snails etc were able to thrive across all of Aotearoa. However, the arrival of Māori and Pākehā changed the landscape of Aotearoa. Many native species evolved in an environment largely shaped by aerial predators, meaning behaviours such as freezing or remaining still could be effective survival strategies. However, these strategies became less effective when species were exposed to introduced ground predators such as stoats.
Respecting the species trapped comes with an understanding not of malice towards the species but an understanding that killing them humanely is important. It is not the species' (possums, stoats, etc.) fault they are here in New Zealand, as they were brought here by humans. Therefore, it is our responsibility to remove them from New Zealand humanely. It is important not to lose empathy for trapped predators whilst also understanding the need for the work to be done. Two things can be true at once, and in this case this is especially relevant. Ongoing education and how trapped species are treated is essential.
Ngā mihi
Catherine Fairbairn
Predator Free Lead
References:
AIATSIS. (n.d). Possum skin cloak. The Australian Institute of Australian and Torres Strait Islander Studies. https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/possum-skin-cloak
Forest & Bird (2018, March 1). Pest Buster Posters for Kids. Forest & Bird. https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/pest-buster-posters-kids
Gibson, S. (2026). A Bushman’s book of yarns. Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand.
Turner, A. (2017, February 6). Capturing the AIATSIS possum skin cloak. The Australian Institute of Australian and Torres Strait Islander Studies. https://aiatsis.gov.au/blog/capturing-aiatsis-possum-skin-cloak
Comments