PETA targets town’s New Year’s tradition

For about 20 years, residents of a small North Carolina town have welcomed each new year with an unorthodox substitute for the iconic New York City ball drop.

Slowly lowering a plexiglass box containing a live marsupial, locals look forward to the yearly “Opossum Drop” celebration.

Leave it to the dunderheads associated with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to target any event – even without any evidence of mistreatment – involving the use of a live animal.

PETA filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, alleging the agency should not have issued a permit to organizers of the ceremony. A judge agreed with PETA in his ruling, noting individuals “are prohibited from capturing and using wild animals for pets or amusement.”
Though there is no evidence anyone complained about the opossums’ treatment during the drop, a PETA spokesperson contended locals can “ring in the new year” without “dangling a small, timid and terrified wild animal over a boisterous crowd and exposing him to bright lights, fireworks, and other frightening noises.”

Judging by the number of dead opossums I’ve seen along this nation’s highways, I’d submit the bright lights and frightening noises that truly threaten these animals belong to cars and trucks.

Still, coordinators say the event will continue, though a stuffed opossum – or possibly one scraped from a nearby road – will take the place of a live specimen.

Of course we should respect animals and do what we can to protect their habitats, but the lengths radical groups like PETA will go in order to spread their message sullies any worthwhile cause animal rights activists support.
B. Christopher Agee founded The Informed Conservative in 2011. Like his Facebook page for engaging, relevant conservative content daily.