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Story: Conservation – a history

Possum lungs

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Possum lungs

The possum lung on the right is normal; that on the left is tubercular. Because wild possums carry bovine tuberculosis and infect cattle, there is a major effort to kill possums near farmland.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10024210

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How to cite this page

Simon Nathan, Conservation – a history – Control of introduced animals, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/13927/possum-lungs (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Simon Nathan, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 August 2015.