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| Opossum with injured snout and crispy ear from actual "possum drop" event |
The conservancy group that oversees wildlife in North Carolina can only issue the permit if it's in the best interest of the wild animal. This is clearly not the case. Photos from previous events show the opossum with an injured snout and crispy ear which can be fatal.
We were able to stop it last year. We should have won this year. We try again next year.
"RALEIGH, N.C. — The annual Possum Drop will go on as scheduled next week after a Superior Court judge on Monday declined to halt the New Year's Eve event in Brasstown.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has sued to stop the mountain town's celebration, saying it's cruel to lower a possum in a plastic box at midnight.
PETA won a similar lawsuit a year ago when an administrative law judge ruled that the state Wildlife Resources Commission lacked the authority to issue a permit for the event. So, the General Assembly passed a law in March allowing licensed sportsmen to hold animals for display as long as they are returned to the wild after the event.
The Wildlife Resources Commission issued a permit Friday allowing Clay Logan, the organizer of the Possum Drop, to capture an animal for the event.
"Mr. Logan knows nothing about how to properly care for an opossum," PETA lawyer Martina Bernstein argued, noting the the lights, noise and crowd of people can harm the health of the nocturnal marsupial.
Assistant Attorney General Tamara Zmuda maintained that PETA was engaging in a "what-if game," saying the permit was issued according to the law and that the Wildlife Resources Commission cannot deny him a permit because something bad might happen to the possum.
Judge Allen Baddour said its sounded like PETA wanted to prohibit anyone from capturing an opossum under the law, but Bernstein the group favors captivity as long as it's in "the humane interests of the animal."
Baddour said next Tuesday night's Possum Drop might provide it with enough evidence to win its lawsuit, but he said he wouldn't block the event at such an early stage in the legal challenge."
My comment: We had experts write lengthy affidavits of the injuries which happened at the last events. Opossums were injured. They will indeed be injured again. I don't agree with the Judge's ruling. This is not a "what if" type of situation. Opossums have been harmed in this event and evidence of this harm was presented to the court.
More herehttp://www.wral.com/judge-declines-to-halt-new-year-s-eve-possum-drop/13241816/
Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.
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