Fur byelection eyes only

A furry John Key misses the nail altogether.

Kerikeri's phantom roadkill artist has struck again, this time using dead possums to poke fun at the leading contenders in the Northland byelection.

The artist's latest sculpture appeared on Saturday morning in the customary spot at the Kerikeri crossroads on State Highway 10.

Winston Peters got the same furry treatment.

It carried the slogan "Let's send a message" and two hammer-wielding possums, one bearing the face of NZ First leader Winston Peters, the other Prime Minister John Key.

Mr Peters' possum hits the nail on the head while Mr Key is well off the mark, with a speech bubble declaring "Opps [sic] I missed again."

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Below them is a third possum, possibly representing confused Northland voters, making fun of an infamous Mr Peters' incident when he brandished a large "no" sign in Parliament in response to questions about whether his party had received donations from billionaire Owen Glenn. It later transpired Mr Peters had received $100,000.

The sculpture had disappeared by evening. It is not known if it was removed by its creator or taken by a souvenir hunter.

Sculptures made with dead possums and hares have appeared regularly at the roundabout in the past, but the phantom artist's last known creation was more than two years ago.

Previous sculptures have lampooned the Rugby World Cup (separate artworks celebrated the All Blacks v France final and the All Blacks v Wallabies semifinal), the Kerikeri Half Marathon, the 2011 general election and Christmas.

The installations have sparked complaints to the Bay of Islands SPCA.

The last sculpture known to the Advocate was of a single possum proposing to someone called Lisa. Attempts at unmasking the artist have proven unsuccessful.