The tiny North Carolina community of Brasstown will continue its tradition of ringing in New Year's Eve with a "Possum Drop," but will no longer use a live opossum.
Yes. This is an actual thing they do there, and there has been a court battle raging for years between the organizers of the Brasstown Possum Drop and PETA.
The group will still be lowering a plexiglass box from a pole at Clay's Corner Convenience Store with an animal inside, though the bonanza will be modified.
Long story short: No live opossum to ring in 2015.
"We'll probably just lower some other form of opossum, a dead possum, road kill maybe, or possum stew," festival organizer Clay Logan told the Wall Street Journal.
Logan, added, "It is the Possum Drop after all."
Truer words have never been spoken.
Last year, festival organizers had a live possum on the ground and its likeness suspended in the air, but that wasn't enough to satisfy PETA critics.
The animal rights group argued that the brass band and fireworks historically accompanying the countdown at the event were harmful to the critter, as well.
In 2013, the state passed a new law, the Opossum Right to Work Act (seriously) but earlier this year, the Clay County Opossum Exclusion passed.
That legislation granted an exception allowing for Clay's Corner Convenience Store to drop the animal between December 26 and January 2 of each year.
Glad to see North Carolina lawmakers are hard at work.
PETA is fighting that exception as well, fearing "a zone of lawlessness" allowing those in Clay County to treat any opossum in any manner they chose for that week.
A North Carolina senior administrative law judge said there is no need, however, because Logan has already promised in writing not to use a live possum.
In the spirit of compromise, PETA said Monday it would be okay with the use of a previously killed opossum, such as roadkill, which is readily available.
Stay tuned.
And these dogs just want to drive, you guys!!
