Update: In one of the pettiest pieces of pork-barrel politics we've seen in a long time, North Carolina state Rep. Roger West, who just so happens to be a sponsor of Brasstown's annual New Year's Eve Possum Drop, has introduced Senate Bill 60, also sneeringly known as "The Opossum Right-to-Work Act."

At face value, the bill appears to be simply a way to skirt a judge's recent ruling that outlawed the cruel event. But it's actually far more insidious than that—it would also strip other wildlife protections and would allow wild animals to be held in captivity for unspecified periods of time, put on display for profit or publicity, and exploited for some unspecified "other purpose." The bill even seeks to exempt some activities from the state's anti-cruelty law. TV icon Bob Barker has sent a letter to members of the North Carolina Senate urging them to reject the bill, and if you're a North Carolina resident, we hope you will do the same and get all your neighbors to weigh in, too. 

Originally posted on November 14th, 2012:

After the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC), despite an objection from PETA, issued a made-up permit to Clay Logan to possess an opossum for his cruel annual New Year's Eve "Opossum Drop"—in which a terrified opossum is abducted, held captive, then suspended and lowered into a horde of boisterous revelers—at his general store in Brasstown, PETA took the matter to court. Now the verdict's in, and the animal with the gray fur scored a victory over the folks with the red faces—and necks.

That's right, y'all: Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred G. Morrison Jr. ruled in PETA's favor, finding that in North Carolina, citizens "are prohibited from capturing and using wild animals for pets or amusement" and that the "WRC has no authority to issue any permit to Logan for the unlawful public display of a native wild animal at the Opossum Drop Event." As a result, the WRC may not "issue any permit or license for possessing and publicly displaying a live opossum for use in an 'Opossum Drop' event or for any other public display of a live opossum or other native wild animal."

Each year, several weeks prior to New Year's Eve, Logan has captured an opossum from the wild and confined the animal before hoisting him or her high into the air on New Year's Eve, and then, with a raucous crowd cheering and the noise of fireworks, live music, and the firing of muskets and cannons, lowered the frightened animal into the fray. Opossums are shy animals who are terrified of humans—their primary predator—and vulnerable to stress-related conditions because of captivity, including capture myopathy, which can result in death days or even weeks after release back into the wild.

What You Can Do

Causing animals pain or distress should never be cause for celebration. Learn more about entertainment that doesn't harm animals as well as how to live in harmony with wildlife.

A PETA staffer walking to the Los Angeles office one morning spotted an opossum sitting in the middle of the road, bleeding from her mouth. Several men were jabbing her with sticks.

Look closely: Even when injuries aren’t obvious, an animal may be suffering.

With the help of several coworkers, the staffer cleared everyone from the area. Then she gathered up the opossum and drove to the nearest animal shelter so that the injured animal could be assessed. Shelter staff determined that the opossum was a mother carrying a pouch full of babies and that her injuries were quite severe: Euthanasia was deemed the most merciful option for both the mother and her babies. The staffer's speedy response saved this opossum family from being hit by another car, being further tormented by cruel people, or suffering and slowly dying from their injuries or from heatstroke, dehydration, or starvation.

If you spot an injured animal on the road, please don't leave the animal to suffer. If you can safely collect the animal, transport him or her to the nearest animal shelter or vet's office for assessment and/or euthanasia. If you don't think that you can contain the animal, call the police or animal control, stress the urgency of the situation, and stay with the animal until help arrives. If all local options fail, please call PETA.

glenn_e_wilson | cc by 2.0

Ah, New Year's Eve. Staying up late, sipping bubbly, singing "Auld Lang Syne," and … scaring the daylights out of an opossum? Unfortunately, yes, that last one happens every year at the New Year's Eve "Opossum Drop" in Brasstown, North Carolina. During the cruel event, a live opossum is suspended above a raucous crowd in a Plexiglas box for hours before being "dropped" about 40 feet in a redneck variation of New York City's Times Square ball drop.

The opossum used in this event was snatched from her natural home—a terrifying and disorienting experience—and is reportedly confined to a retail store until the event. During the "drop," the frightened animal will be subjected to a screaming crowd, fireworks, and the firing of muskets, which can damage her sensitive hearing and respiratory system. It's no wonder that eyewitnesses have reported that opossums used in previous years were shaking in fear. After the event, the opossum apparently will be released in a parking lot, putting her in danger of being hit by a car.

After PETA alerted North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) officials to the fact that the event’s organizer, Clay Logan, didn’t have the necessary permit to keep a wild animal, they hurriedly created a new type of permit for Logan, blatantly ignoring captivity permit or license requirements, including the requirement that animals receive humane treatment.

Please politely urge NCWRC officials to revoke the illegally issued permit for this cruel event. There's no reason to be cruel, and the Opossum Drop would be fun and safe for everyone if a toy opossum were used instead.