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NRC Land Operations Manager Bob Cathcart taste tests a trial batch of the possum pies Council staff will be giving away at the Northland Agricultural Field Days at Dargaville.

The Northland Regional Council plans to give away about 1000 possum meat pies in a bid to attract more visitors to its marquee at the March 3-5 field days, as well as offer a fun way to draw attention to the problems caused by possums and other pests.

Regional Council Community Relations Team Leader Jason Dawson says in an irony for a region with millions of possums, the Council was forced to buy the possum meat used in the pies from outside Northland.

“Pukekohe’s Eastherbrook Farms was the only place we managed to locate which could provide us with possum meat that had been approved for human consumption.”

Mr Dawson says 36 whole frozen possums were freighted to Whangarei, yielding about 16.5kg of meat once they had been boned and minced by staff at the Aussie Butcher. The mini pies will be baked to a secret recipe by staff at Whangarei’s Regency Pies in about a fortnight, just before the field days.

Regional Councillors and staff who this week taste-tested a small trial batch of the pies gave the unusual pastries the thumbs up, labelling them extremely nice and surprisingly “delicate” in flavour.

Meanwhile, as well as distributing the possum pies, Regional Council staff will also be on hand at the expo to chat about other aspects of the NRC’s work from water quality to sustainable land management.

Mr Dawson says with only 1000 pies available over the three days of the field days, the Council will limit tastings to three times a day at 10am, noon and 2pm.

He says people keen to try the pies can visit the Council marquee at its traditional field days location; site A5.