Victory! Town’s Cruel “Possum Drop” Won’t Have a Live One This Year

[Omaha Steve]

Marta and I have been putting out extra food for out for the wild possums that live down the hill from us: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026011940





http://www.care2.com/causes/victory-towns-cruel-possum-drop-wont-have-a-live-one-this-year.html

People in Brasstown, N.C., will still be holding a “Possum Drop” to ring in the new year, but they will at least not be using a live animal thanks to intervention from animal advocates.

For two decades, thousands of people have shown up in Brasstown to celebrate New Year’s Eve at the town’s annual Possum Drop, where a live opossum who was taken from the wild is lowered in a plexiglass box during the countdown at midnight – similar to the annual ball drop in New York City’s Times Square.

For years, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and concerned animal lovers have raised objections, legal and otherwise, arguing that exposing a normally shy creature to the lights, fireworks, music, other festivities and crowds of people on New Year’s Eve is a completely unnecessary act of cruelty. Advocates for these unlucky opossums have also raised concerns that even if they appear to be unharmed during the event, they may die after being released because of the stress.

“You can ring in the New Year with a grand celebration with no need to cause any suffering to any shy animal that, by nature, would be terrified,” Martina Bernstein, an attorney for PETA, told the Charlotte Observer.

FULL story at link.

[PoliticAverse]

1. They could always replace it with a turkey drop...

[Omaha Steve]

3. Sarah Palin wasn't available

To bad.

[hollysmom]

2. they were not cruel to this rat.

PETA is way off here, there are so many more animal problems, concentrating on the farms is always good, Or get on Christie and his gestation pig cage thing.

[Omaha Steve]

4. They are not rats!!!

http://opossumsocietyus.org/faq-opossum/

Opossum Society of the United States

Question: Are opossums related to rats?

Answer: No! Despite their rat-like appearance, opossums are not related to rats at all. Opossums are marsupials, or pouched mammals. Marsupials carry young in a pouch on the abdomen of the female. Relatives include the koala and kangaroo. The opossum holds the distinction of being North America’s only marsupial!

[hollysmom]

5. as cruel sounding as my reply is, I never hurt a possum.

But I never fed them to attract them to my back door like my sister did - that is a sure way to get them exterminated by neighbors. When I see a possum freeze, I just walk away. They do have cute disney faces, but I honestly thought they were in the rat family.

[Omaha Steve]

6. The other side of our back fence is Fontenelle Forest

I understand a little better now.

It's not just possums we attract with feed. We get every native furry critter in the area. We could do with fewer raccoon's.

http://www.fontenelleforest.org/

Our back fence:

[exboyfil]

7. They turned right instead of left when they came off the ark