North Carolinian Town‘s New Year’s Eve Opossum Drop Under PETA Attack
- Posted on December 17, 2011 at 1:07am by
Liz Klimas
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In Brasstown, North Carolina, residents aren’t glued to their TV screen on New Years Eve to watch the Times Square ball drop. They are at Clay’s Corner to watch the annual Opossum Drop.
But that could all change if PETA gets its way. USA Today reports that PETA has called Clay Logan’s Opossum Drop, which has been happening for 18 years, “cruel and illegal.”
The opossum is not dropped in a free fall, but is lowered in a garland-covered Plexiglas container.
USA Today has more:
Logan was undeterred after hearing about PETA’s allegation. He’s been down this road before.
In 2005, the group threatened to sue him for not having proper permits to keep a wild animal so he placed a dead opossum in the box and raised it up the pole outside his gas station. The opossum was road-kill.
The crowd, which can number as high as 3,000 with good weather, was not pleased that year and neither was Logan.
“People didn’t like it at all,” he said. “I got scolded heavy but I said ‘Hey, I can’t afford to be sued.’”
Logan said he has all his permits, though PETA disagrees.
[...]
PETA said the opossum “suffers through a barrage of terrifying stimuli” such as fireworks and gunfire.
“Ignorance of the law is not a defense, and cruelty to animals is indefensible,” PETA Director Delcianna Winders said in a written statement. “Using a captive opossum as the centerpiece of a raucous party is cruel and illegal.”
Watch the 2010 Opossum Drop:
Logan states that none of the opossums have played dead during the event, something they are known to do if frightened or feeling threatened. He also said to USA Today that he picks the star opossum from a tree before New Year’s Eve and keeps it fed. He noted that because they are well fed under his care, some are hesitant to leave after the show is done.
PETA says they’ve sent a letter to Logan in hopes of persuading again him to find an alternative to using a live animal at the event. They want him to emulate Tallapoosa, Ga.‘s New Year’s Eve Possum Drop.
“The great thing about Tallapoosa is that they don’t use a live possum,” PETA lawyer Brittany Peet said. “They use a taxidermied possum.” And because it’s the same stuffed critter every year, it’s become something of a local mascot, Peet said.
The Opossum Drop may be North Carolina‘s most distinctive New Year’s celebration, but the state has plenty of other “drops” planned for that day as well, including a giant acorn, a 30-pound flea made of fabric and wool and a light-up pickle replica in the vegetable-canning hotbed of Mt. Olive.
Watch the official trailer of the opossum drop here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments (57)
Gravejoke
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 11:49amOpossum are still rodents and pests aren’t they?
Report Post »median
Posted on December 19, 2011 at 12:09pmDelcianna Winders is just jelous because she’s not getting dropped!!Stupid bi..h does’nt know the difference between a possum and a coon.
Report Post »PossumRoadkill
Posted on December 19, 2011 at 1:29pmNo. Opossums are marsupials. In fact they are the only marsupial in North America. They are great little creatures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum
Report Post »country_hick
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 11:36amQuestion for this PETA (not the one that represents People Eating Tasty Animals):
If animals are suppose to be eaten why are they made from meat?
AND just in case the don’t have a clue;
Possum Pot Pie
1 c Glazed huckleberries
3 Shots gin or moonshine
1 Possum
1 Pie crust with top
Sliced carrots & cabbage to taste
Cover a pan (or any implement you can put in a fire) with the bottom of your pie crust and place the possum in it. Add the huckleberries and carrots, and shred the cabbage over it. Close up the pie and bake until the neighbors’ dogs come sniffing around to see what the wonderful smell is, or until the fire department arrives (whichever comes first). Remove from fire/oven, slice and enjoy.
Report Post »Krutch
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 2:18pmIs that a whole possum, or can ya gut it first?
Report Post »Jenny Lind
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 10:22amI think the possum would rather put up with a bit of light and noise rather than being road kill or another critter’s dinner. Get a life PETA.
Report Post »piper60
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 10:09amThey should keep the tradition. I‘m sick and tired of Peta and their sticking their nose into everybody’s business. There must have been somebody in that town that told Peta about this. So—-one person complains and Peta jumps on it like a duck on a junebug.
Report Post »RightThinking1
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 10:05amI’m thinking the PETA folk should probably not make an on-site issue of it. I’m doubtful that the Brasstown folk would be very hospitable. Of course, knowing Holder, he might scramble some DOJ people down there to see to that no PETA creeps were offended.
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 9:29amPETA is carrying out the Obama’s “change your traditions”. No matter how small.
Report Post »Lamar The Revenger
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 9:12amIn a town near here called Falmouth (pronounced fowl mouth!) every New Years they drop a goat. Haven’t heard a single peep from those wackos. They all have goat races there too.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 11:48amIn Kentucky? If so I would like to go to that! that would be worth the 50 mile drive!
Report Post »Phluffy666
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 9:07amI bet if they replaced the plexiglass container with a garland covered noose and did an Ingrid Newkirk drop they could boost attendence… Betcha they could get Ted Nugent for that one!
Report Post »davidry2k1
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 9:04amI used to live in Brasstown. The people up there hate peta, I would love to see peta show up and cause problems at the drop. LOL There would be no more peta.
Report Post »flemke
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 8:58amI have a real problem with PETA claiming anyone is inhumane. PETA has one of the worst records for killing animals of any shelter in the country. People turn over dogs and cats to them at their Virginia shelter. PETA kills 90% of them. PETA hates pitbulls and believes the breed should be eliminated. They automatically kill any pitbull they get their hands on. They are a disgusting organization that needs to be exposed for what they are.
Report Post »Thecoolhandluke
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 9:07amThis person is right. I used to volunteer at the SPCA in Norfolk, VA (same town as PETA’s headquarters–it also stands for People Embarrassing the Tidewater Area) and we would never do anything to help them or vice versa for that very reason. The SPCA tries to find pets new homes; PETA just offs them all.
Report Post »MCDAVE
Posted on December 18, 2011 at 1:30pmwhat they hate is are 2nd amendment rights.
Report Post »Legend1
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 8:44amPut a dead baby in there and PETA would be fine with that, because thats just a womans choice. Put a rodent in there and all hell is going to break loose
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 8:11amHow about… a PETA Shoot?
Report Post »Cape_Lookout_RW_Extremist
Posted on December 18, 2011 at 10:11amThats what I was thinking…how about a PETA director drop?….from 30,000 feet?
Report Post »country_hick
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 7:30amWhich reminds me…I only have 2 more days left in muzzle loader season to fill my buck license.
Report Post »GrumpyCat
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 7:11amI think it would be very popular if he would replace the possum with a PETA lawyer.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 7:22amI was thinking the exact same thing; only a lawyer could make a case of ‘animal cruelty’ for a opposum that is stuffed and mounted already.
Report Post »drago
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 7:06amWonder if any peta person would volunteer to take the possum’s place?….Thought not……
Report Post »Outlaw_Josey_Wales
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 6:49amI’m an animal, PETA should be outraged by the way the federal government is treating me!
Report Post »Diane TX
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 6:11amHa ha! A possum is a rodent, just like a mouse or rat. Did PETA sue the space program when they sent mice into outer space in a rocket? I’ll bet that the mice were VERY scared by their adventure.
Report Post »shorthanded12
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 6:52amSo a democRAT is a rodent in disguise. Yep thats about right.
PETA = People Eating Tasty Animals
Report Post »sharonlily
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 11:42amI’m all for stopping cruelty to animals but PETA is too extreme and hipocritical! The opossum doesn’t sound like its being injured so I say keep the tradition.
Oh, and by the way, the opossum is not a rodent. It’s the only marsupial native to north America.
Report Post »babylonvi
Posted on December 19, 2011 at 6:18am@SHARONLILY – And a mighty fine tasting one at that.
Report Post »PossumRoadkill
Posted on December 19, 2011 at 1:27pmThe Opossum is not a rodent. It is in fact the only marsupial found in North America. They are amazing little creatures. You can educate yourself more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum
Report Post »Laus Deo
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 5:13amDearest peta,
Blow it out ‘your a55. You don’t scare the average American.
Report Post »DesertCactus
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 4:47amWould it be cruel and unusual punishment if they substituted a politician from D.C? I bet no one would complain.
Report Post »Rayofwhite
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 3:57amPerhaps they would prefer our old annual opossum drop when we used dogs and a 12 gauge shotgun? They did drop much faster……
Report Post »Rayofwhite
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 3:50amThese PETA folks are nothing more than a bunch of God hating Bull Dikes, Believe me I know first hand as my Grandfather was a animal lover that kept Mountain Lions on his property. He loved his cats and they were very well taken care off yet PETA was always harassing him. Fortunately he won in court and sent the dikes packing :). I helped a couple of times by showing up in full assault gear with my AR15 asking them to leave. Being stupid, gay, ******** they fled at the sight of me. Nobody messed with my Grandfather under my watch!
Report Post »burnteye86
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 3:36amI call BS on PETA. I bet the possum likes it. Gotta be a great view of the fireworks from up there.
Report Post »1casawizard
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 2:48amI always try to have my annual deer drop. I like to harvest a deer or two on that day by shooting them in the vitals and providing family and friends with jerky and venison. PETA and EPA are two useless entities that need to be abolished from our new Prez. We already have state, county, city EPAs. PETA is a profit generating non taxpaying enterprise.
Report Post »scout n ambush
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 2:44amPlay dead maybe peta will go away ,nah forget it they wont quit till some possum gets a hold of them them things are mean, vicious and cunniving kinda lke a lefty progressive and they eat crap and don’t die like a four legged cockroach with lots of razor sharp teeth.
Report Post »1casawizard
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 3:01amYeah, Possums play dead like a lot of animals when they’re scared. PETA might play dead if they‘re scared but WE need to make sure they don’t have ANY say-so, so that they stay dead and don’t come back alive. possums are food for the winged scavengers.
Report Post »GBMBulletsSKNRD
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 2:27amThe dumbest thing I have ever heard.
Report Post »drago
Posted on December 17, 2011 at 7:03amThe possum or peta?
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