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PETA amazed Possum Drop continues

Logan plans on using live possum for annual New Year’s Eve party

By ROBERT HORNE

editor@thecherokeescout.com

Brasstown – The annual New Year’s Eve Possum Drop at Clay’s Corner store flew under the radar of the major media across the country for 13 years.

That all changed in 2004 when the event was featured in a New York Times article. Not only did the Possum Drop attract the attention of many as an alternative to the ball dropping in Times Square in New York City, it also caught the attention of  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the country’s leading animal rights group.

Clay Logan, owner of Clay’s Corner and the founder of the Possum Drop, usually captures a live possum and takes care of it for about a month before the event. He said he puts it in a government-approved cage on his property and feeds it the “finest cat food money can buy.”

On New Year’s Eve, the possum is transferred to the store, placed in a glass box and lowered as the crowd counts down to the new year. After the festivities conclude; “I tell everybody once we drop him and the crowd leaves, we turn him loose. He runs across the road, and we run over him and eat him for New Year’s dinner,” Logan said with a smile.

In reality, Logan says the animal is released back into the wild.

“Obviously, PETA is amazed an event as ill conceived and cruel as the Possum Drop is still taking place in 2006,” said Jackie Vergerio, PETA’s animals and entertainment specialist. “Capturing, confining and forcing an animal to take part is needless and inappropriate.

“I know everyone thinks it’s harmless fun, but the truth for the possum is its a terrifying event. I saw a videotape of last year’s event, and the animal was exposed to a scary situation. It was in a glass box with lights all around and suspended in mid-air for the duration of the event. I cannot imagine how terrified the possum is awaiting his fate.”

In 2004, PETA threatened a lawsuit if a live possum was used. So that year, Logan used a dead possum found on the road.

“At 6 p.m. that night, we were told if we used a live possum we’d be prosecuted,” Logan said. “So we went to plan B, which was roadkill. We got a nice roadkill, washed him up, blow dried him and positioned him the way we wanted and quick froze him in the freeze so he’d stay in the position we wanted. At 10 p.m., he was fairly well froze.”

For the 2005 event, Logan got the proper permits – three from the state and one federal – to get the permission to do it. For this year's event, a live possum will again be used.

Logan said he has to catch the animal the “politically correct way,” which means using a dog to tree it and then catch it. It is against the law to trap one, which he doesn’t do. He catches the animal by grabbing it by its tail because a possum cannot turn its body up like a squirrel.

Vergerio, however, is concerned that capturing a wild animal may lead to its death.

“Wild animals can and do die of capture myopathy, which  pertains to the stress of being captured,” she said. “The animal gets so worked up it can go into cardiac arrest. A pregnant female may miscarry. If it’s carrying newborns, they may die. I cannot believe an animal may die just to make a joke of the ball drop in Times Square.”

Before responding to questions from the Cherokee Scout, Vergerio looked at Logan’s Web site, clayscorner.com. She wonders why the event does not feature more live bluegrass music and make a bigger deal out of the Miss Possum “womanless” beauty pageant.

“It seems to me that if Brasstown wanted to honor the much-maligned possum, they could drop a toy possum,” she said. “There are other aspects of the event that are unique and amusing. Using a live animal only serves to dampen the positive atmosphere of the event.”

Vergerio said PETA plans no formal protest of this year’s possum drop. She did say several members from the western North Carolina area have called PETA’s home office in Norfolk, Va., after finding out about the event.

Logan, however, is not so sure. “I’m sure there will be eyes in the crowd,” he said.

While Logan has no plans to stop using a live possum, Vergerio hopes to eventually see Logan stop using a live animal.

“Honestly, every year it happens I cannot believe it’s happening again,” she said. “As more and more people become enlightened to the needless plight of the captured animal for this event, more and more complaints will roll in.

“And eventually, the use of a live possum will be stopped.”

Another story about the possum drop

This was published in the Dec. 28, 2006 edition of the Clay County Progress. The article may not be republished without the permission of this newspaper.

It's Possum Drop time

By Lois Tomas
Senior Staff Writer

Anyone can spend New Year's Eve watching the ball drop in Time's Square on  television. But it takes a special person to get up off the couch, travel to downtown Brasstown, and experience the Possum Drop.

Time's Square doesn't have the choirs or the music. And it sure doesn't have hairy men in dresses. What else do you need to celebrate the arrival of 2007?

The Possum Drop has been a Clay County tradition for over a decade. The crowds grow every year, but it remains a family oriented event. There is no alcohol.

One of the event's organizer, Clay Logan, who hosts the Possum Drop from his store, Clay's Corner, said the name of the event is inaccurate.

"The opossum is not actually 'dropped,'" Logan said.  "It is lowered with great care. We treat our little friend with respect, hold him in awe, and do not inflict any injury or traumatize God's creature of the night."

That was not the opinion of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who threatened Logan with a lawsuit about three years ago.

Despite the threats, the Possum Drop went on as usual.

Logan, whose store bills itself as "the opossum capital of the world," has a fondness for the star of the show. Last year's marsupial arrived in style in a limousine.

"We bring the possum to start the event and then we have the blessing," Logan said. "Then we bring out the queens of the last ten years and show them off."

This is followed by songs from the church choirs, which leads to the main event, the lowering of the opossum at midnight."

All the happenings are easily observed, thanks to technology which projects the goings on onto a big screen at Clay's Corner. Videos, t-shirts and other souvenirs, as well as snacks and beverages, are available.

Events get under way at 10 p.m. Parking is available in the area.

(For more on the Possum Drop, see this week's special section.)