HILO (HawaiiNewsNow) – A live opossum was captured at a freight transporting warehouse near Hilo Harbor Wednesday morning.
Around 10:15 a.m., warehouse employees reportedly spotted the opossum in their container staging area and contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who then notified the Hawaii Plant Quarantine Branch in Hilo.
Warehouse workers had already contained the animal by the time state staff arrived at the site.
State agriculture officials inspected the surrounding area and found no other opossums.
Per legal protocol, the opossum was humanely euthanized and a tissue sample was sent to the mainland for rabies testing.
Opossums are prohibited in Hawaii, and although the state says they are less likely to carry rabies than other mammals, they can carry parasites and other diseases.
To report a sighting of an illegal animal in Hawaii, call the statewide PEST hotline at (808) 643-PEST (7378).
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