Paula the possum slayer: 'it will make a great hat'

Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mark Mitchell

The Deputy Prime Minister has proudly posted a photo of a possum she trapped at home - joking it will make a nice hat.

Paula Bennett installed a trap on her property near Auckland's Waitakere Ranges, saying she did it herself after losing patience with the "men in my household".

This morning, the Upper Harbour MP posted to Twitter a photo of the first catch, adding "it's huge and (was) very healthy. Make a great hat".

Caught this sucker in my front yard. Waitakere's. Men in my household were slow so I bought this. #predatorfree pic.twitter.com/xVK26lbdsL

— Paula Bennett (@paulabennettmp) April 29, 2017

Last July the Government announced a formal target for New Zealand to be free of pest predators by 2050.

At the heart of the policy is a new $28 million joint venture, Predator Free New Zealand Limited, which will identify large-scale pest eradication projects and attract private investment to boost their reach.

Read more about the progress of predator-free efforts here.

The policy is largely dependent on private funding - prompting Labour and the Greens to question whether the Government was doing enough. To help achieve the target, the Government is also betting on the development of a major scientific breakthrough by 2025, capable of wiping out rats, stoats or possums.

New Zealand First leader and Northland MP Winston Peters recently criticised the amount spent on pest and weed control.