Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T04:30:49.914Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

No country for possums: young people’s nativist views

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2019

Rajesh Ram Open the ORCID record for Rajesh Ram [Opens in a new window]
Rajesh Ram*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education and Social Work, School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author. Email: rajesh.ram@auckland.ac.nz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is one of many animal species classified as alien under the biosecurity system in New Zealand. However, it is against the possums that a relentless campaign is perpetrated. This article attempts to explain some of the many reasons behind such intense negativity, and in doing so, show a link between the management of invasive species as a biosecurity risk and young people’s nativist views. A qualitative, interpretive mode of inquiry was used to analyse data that showed a link between the management of invasive species as a biosecurity risk and young people’s controversial views. An educational program that presents an objective view of invasive species is recommended.

Keywords

biosecurityenvironment educationinvasion ecologynativismxenophobia
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 12 - 27
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, C. D., Savage, M., Falk, D. A., Suckling, K. F., Swetnam, T. W., Schulke, T., & Klingel, J. T. (2002). Ecological restoration of southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystems: A broad perspective. Ecological Applications, 12, 1418–1433.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities (rev. ed.). London, England: Verso.Google Scholar
Barker, K. (2010). Biosecure citizenship: Politicising symbiotic associations and the construction of biological threat. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 35, 350–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barry, M. (2017). New Zealand’s threatened species strategy. Retrieved from http://www.doc.govt.nz/pagefiles/169845/threatened-species-strategy-draft.pdfGoogle Scholar
Bell, D. S. (2003). Mythscapes: Memory, mythology, and national identity. The British Journal of Sociology, 54, 63–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellich, J. (2001). Paradise reforged: A history of the New Zealanders from the 1880s to 2000. Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin BooksGoogle Scholar
Birdsall, S. (2010). Empowering students to act: Learning about, through and from the nature of action. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 26, 65–84.Google Scholar
Bone, H. (2016). Putin backs WW2 myth in new Russian film. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37595972Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryman, A. (2004). Social research methods (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Carruthers, J. (1995). The Kruger National Park, a social and political history. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: University of Natal Press.Google Scholar
Catley, C. C. (1991). Pakeha: The quest for identity in New Zealand. In King, M., (Ed.), Captaining the canoe (pp. 35–45). Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Cowan, E. P. (1991). Effects of introduced Australian brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) on the fruiting of the endemic New Zealand Nikau palm (Rhopalostylis sapida). New Zealand Journal of Botany, 29, 91–93.Google Scholar
Cowan, P. E. (2005). Brushtail possum. In King, C. M., (Ed.), The handbook of New Zealand mammals (2nd ed., pp. 56–80). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Department of Conservation. (2015). Possums. Retrieved from http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/animal-pests/animal-pests-a-z/possums/Google Scholar
Department of Conservation. (2017). Plague skinks. Retrieved from http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/animal-pests/plague-skinks/Google Scholar
Department of Conservation. (2018). Why we use aerial 1080. Retrieved from https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/methods-of-control/1080/why-we-use-aerial-1080/Google Scholar
Dürr, E. (2007). Arcadia in the Antipodes: Tourists’ reflections on New Zealand as nature experience. New Series, 4, 57–82Google Scholar
Elgot, J., & Taylor, M. (2015, July 30). Calais crisis: Cameron condemned for dehumanising descriptipn of migrants. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/30/david-cameron-migrant-swarm-language-condemnedGoogle Scholar
Elliot, R. (1982). Faking nature. Inquiry, 25, 81–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliot, R. (1997). Faking nature: The ethics of environmental restoration. London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gröning, G., & Wolschke-Bulmahn, J. (2003). The native plant enthusiasm: Ecological panacea or xenophobia? Landscape Research, 28, 75–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guy, N. (2015). Order paper and questions. The New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved from http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/business/qwa/QWA_05862_2015/5862-2015-richard-prosser-to-the-minister-for-primaryGoogle Scholar
Head, L. (1991). Pakeha: The quest for identity in New Zealand. In King, M., (Ed.), Culture on the fault line. (pp. 23–34). Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Hodson, D. (2011). Looking to the future: Building a curriculum for social activism. Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horton, J., Hadfield-Hill, S., & Kraftl, P. (2015). Children living with ‘sustainable’ urban architectures. Environment and Planning A, 47, 903–921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howlett, C., Ferreira, J. A., & Blomfield, J. (2016). Teaching sustainable development in higher education: Building critical, reflective thinkers through an interdisciplinary approach. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 17, 305–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hungerford, H., & Volk, T. (1990). Changing learner behaviour through environmental education. Journal of Environmental Education, 21, 8–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutching, G. (2014). Possums — Impact on native animals. Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/16899/possum-eating-a-chickGoogle Scholar
Isern, T. D. (2002). Pests and weeds in New Zealand. In Pawson, E., & Brooking, T., (Eds.), Environmental histories of New Zealand (pp. 233–245). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jensen, B. B. (2002). Knowledge, action and pro-environmental behaviour. Environmental Education Research, 8, 325–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jordan, W. R. III (2000). Restoration, community, and wilderness. In Gobster, P. H., & Hull, R. B., (Eds.), Restoring nature: Perspectives from the social sciences and humanities (pp. 23–36). Washington, DC: Island Press.Google Scholar
Julian, A. F. (1981). Marsupials in New Zealand. In Bell, B. D., (Ed.), Proceedings of the First Symposium on Marsupials in New Zealand (pp. 163–174). Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington.Google Scholar
Katz, E. (2000). Another look at restoration: Technology and artificial nature. In Gobster, P. H., & Hull, R. B., (Eds.), Restoring nature: Perspectives from the social sciences and humanities (pp. 37–48). Washington, DC: Island Press.Google Scholar
Key, J. (2016). NZ to be predator free by 2050. Retrieved from https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/new-zealand-be-predator-free-2050Google Scholar
King, M. (1991). Pākehā: The quest for identity in New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Koubaridis, A., & Shuttleworth, K. (2012, May 11). Aussie invader triggers swoop. NZ Herald. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10805088Google Scholar
Laidlaw, C. (1991). Pakeha: The quest for identity in New Zealand. In King, M., (Ed.), Stepping out from shadow (pp. 157–170). Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Laird, L. (2015, April 27). Mediterranean invader found at marina. Northern Advocate. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northernadvocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11439119Google Scholar
Lissovsky, N. (2012). National parks in the service of nation building: The pioneering work of Lipa Yahalom and Dan Zur in Israel. An International Quarterly, 32, 3263–3283.Google Scholar
Lloro-Bidart, T. (2018). Cultivating affects: A feminist posthumanist analysis of invertebrate and human performativity in an urban community garden. Emotion, Space and Society, 27, 23–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malone, K. (2016). Reconsidering children’s encounters with nature and place using posthumanism. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 32, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malone, K., Birrell, C. L., Boyle, I., & Gray, T. (2015). Wild nature play: Researching OOSH in the Bush. Retrieved from http://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws%3A31190/Google Scholar
Moir, J. (2012, July 1). Monster pigs, pimped-up possums all for a good cause. Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/7373347/Monster-pigs-pimped-up-possums-all-for-a-good-causeGoogle Scholar
Morris, H. (2015). Posthuman education and animal interiority. In Snaza, N., & Weaver, J., (Eds.), Posthumanism and educational research (pp. 43–55). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Neuman, L, W. (2003). Social work research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. (2013). FAQs: New Zealand plants. Retrieved from http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/page.aspx?help_faqs_NZ_plantsGoogle Scholar
Nightingale, M. (2017, July). Horror at children drowning baby possums at Drury school event. NZ Herald. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11883083Google Scholar
O’Brien, W. (2006). Exotic invasions, nativism, and ecological restoration: On the persistence of a contentious debate. Ethics, Place and Environment, 9, 63–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oakley, J., Watson, G., Russell, C., Cutter-Mackenzie, A., Fawcett, L., Kuhl, G., & Warkentin, T. (2010). Animal encounters in environmental education research: Responding to the ‘Question of the Animal’. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 15, 86–102.Google Scholar
Oarsman, B. (2006, December 23). Chainsaw threat to exotic trees. NZ Herald. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10361240Google Scholar
Olwig, K. R. (2006). Landscape, monuments and national identity. In Herb, G. H., & Kaplan, D. H., (Eds.), Nations and nationalism: A global historical overview (pp. 59–71). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.Google Scholar
Osborne, J., Erduran, S., Simon, S., & Monk, M. (2001). Enhancing the quality of argument in school science. School Science Review, 82, 63–70Google Scholar
Palmer, M. A., Zedler, J. B., & Falk, D. A. (Eds.). (2016). Ecological theory and restoration ecology. In Foundations of restoration ecology (pp. 3–26). Washington, DC: Island Press/Center for Resource Economics.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, J. (2002). Swamp drainage and its impact on the indigenous. In Pawson, E., & Brooking, T., (Eds.), Environmental histories of New Zealand (pp. 151–165). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pawson, E., & Brooking, T. (2002). Introduction. In Pawson, E., & Brooking, T., (Eds.), Environmental histories of New Zealand (pp. 1–18). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Peretti, J. H. (1998). Nativism and nature: Rethinking biological invasions. Environmental Values, 7, 183–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potts, A. (2013). A New Zealand book of beasts: Animals in our culture, history and everyday life. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press.Google Scholar
Predator Free NZ. (2018). Predator free 2050. Retrieved from https://predatorfreenz.org/about-us/pf-2050/Google Scholar
Rennie, A. (2006). The importance of national parks to nation-building: Support for the National Parks Act (2000) in the Scottish Parliament. Scottish Geographical Journal, 122, 223–232.Google Scholar
Ryan, T. J., Livingstone, P. G., Ramsey, D. S. L., De Lisle, G. W., Nugent, G., Collins, D. M., & Buddle, B. M. (2006). Advances in understanding disease epidemiology and implications for control and eradication of tuberculosis in livestock: The experience from New Zealand. Veterinary Microbiology, 112, 211–219.Google ScholarPubMed
Saatch & Saatchi. (2015). Toyota the real road experts. Retrieved from http://saatchi.co.nz/#/content/209http://saatchi.co.nz/#/content/209Google Scholar
Sanson, L. (2017). New Zealand’s threatened species strategy. Retrieved from http://www.doc.govt.nz/pagefiles/169845/threatened-species-strategy-draft.pdfGoogle Scholar
Sheley, R. L., Jacobs, J. S., & Floyd, J. W. (1996). Noxious Weed Survey: Awareness and attitudes in Montana. Weed Technology, 10, 592–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonneaux, L. (2014). Questions socialement vives and socio-scientific issues: New trends of research to meet the training needs of postmodern society. In Bruguiere, C., Tiberghien, A., & Clement, P., (Eds.), Topics and trends in current science education (pp. 37–54). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smout, T. S. (2003). The alien species in the 20th-century Britain: Constructing a new vermin. Landscape Research, 28, 11–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Society for Ecological Restoration. (2002). The SER primer on ecological restoration. Retrieved from https://nau.edu/uploadedFiles/Centers-Institutes/ERI/_Forms/Resources/ser-primer.pdfGoogle Scholar
South, K. (2010, September 9). Possum throwing immoral-SPCA. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4155269/Possum-throwing-immoral-SPCAGoogle Scholar
Star, P., & Lochhead, L. (2003). New Zealanders and the indigenous remnant, 1880–1930. In Pawson, E., & Brooking, T., (Eds.), Environmental histories of New Zealand (pp. 119–135). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Subarmanium, B. (2001). The aliens have landed! Reflections on the rhetoric of biological invasions. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, 2, 26–40.Google Scholar
TBfree. (2001). Bovine Tuberculosis Pest Management Strategy 2001–2013: An amendment proposal prepared by The Animal Health Board. Retrieved from http://www.tbfree.org.nz/Portals/0/2014AugResearchPapers/Bovine%20Tuberculosis%20Pest%20Management%20Strategy%202001-2013.pdfGoogle Scholar
TBfree. (2015). Bovine TB facts. Retrieved from http://www.tbfree.org.nz/bovine-tuberculosis-information.aspxGoogle Scholar
United Nations. (2010). Restoring damaged ecosystems can generate wealth and employment. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=34906#.Wd1Vm7IjHIUGoogle Scholar
Warren, C. R. (2007). Perspectives on the ‘alien’ versus ‘native’ species debate: A critique of concepts, language and practice. Progress in Human Geography, 31, 427–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, M. (2016, August). Possum hunters target $130m ‘fluffy gold’ industry. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/82927297/possum-hunters-target-130m-fluffy-gold-industryGoogle Scholar
Wynn, G. (2002). Destruction under the guise of improvement: The forest 1840–1920. In Pawson, E., & Brooking, T., (Eds.), Environmental histories of New Zealand (pp. 100–116). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar