--- title: No Live-Possum Drop in Brasstown, N.C., This New Year's Eve description: A tiny North Carolina town will drop its tradition of dropping a live possum this New Year’s Eve after PETA won an injunction canonical: https://time.com/3649194/possum-peta-brasstown-north-carolina/ author: Elizabeth Barber article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-30T03:59:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:15:34.593Z og:title: U.S. Town Nixes New Year Live Possum Drop og:description: It will drop a dead possum instead, following a PETA injunction. og:url: https://time.com/3649194/possum-peta-brasstown-north-carolina/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad0b1c513d408d99/698777ae55a859ecb8a8506e/h_51158503.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Possum Drop in Brasstown, North Carolina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Town Nixes New Year Live Possum Drop twitter:description: It will drop a dead possum instead, following a PETA injunction. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad0b1c513d408d99/698777ae55a859ecb8a8506e/h_51158503.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There Will Be No Live-Possum Drop in Brasstown, N.C., This New Year's Eve by [Elizabeth Barber](https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Dec 30, 2014 3:59 AM UTC  A sign honoring the possums of Brasstown is seen during the 20th annual Possum Drop on New Year's Eve at Clay's Corner in Brasstown, North Carolina, Dec. 31, 2013. A sign honoring the possums of Brasstown is seen during the 20th annual Possum Drop on New Year's Eve at Clay's Corner in Brasstown, North Carolina, Dec. 31, 2013.Erik S. Lesser—EPA by [Elizabeth Barber](https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Dec 30, 2014 3:59 AM UTC A North Carolina town [will drop](http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/12/29/5412732/possum-drop-organizer-wont-use.html#.VKG48F4AKA) its tradition of dropping a live possum this New Year’s Eve. Following an injunction won by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Clay Logan, of Brasstown, N.C., has decided not to use a live animal in his annual Possum Drop, the Charlotte _Observer_ reports. Instead, the possum Logan will lower to the ground in a tinsel-decorated plexiglass cage this year will be roadkill or, perhaps, the main ingredient in a pot of possum stew. PETA and Logan have been at loggerheads for more than a year over the event, an annual rite in this town of 240 people that includes a full evening of marsupial-themed activities. PETA has accused Logan of subjecting a shy animal to noise and confusion, while Logan has defended the tradition as “good clean family fun, a good old redneck good time” that doesn’t harm the tiny animal, who is released into the wild afterward. It’s unclear if this battle will be dropped for good come 2015, however. The injunction just requires Logan to get a state permit to use a live possum, and Logan told the Associated Press that he simply [didn’t have time](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/66b82670584441f79166402497600b4d/possum-drop-wont-ring-2015-live-animal) to get one this year. \[[_Charlotte Observer_](http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/12/29/5412732/possum-drop-organizer-wont-use.html#.VKG48F4AKA)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3649194/possum-peta-brasstown-north-carolina/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3649194/possum-peta-brasstown-north-carolina/"},"headline":"There Will Be No Live-Possum Drop in Brasstown, N.C., This New Year's Eve","datePublished":"2014-12-30T03:59:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:15:34.593Z","description":"The organizer will drop a dead one, instead","url":"https://time.com/3649194/possum-peta-brasstown-north-carolina/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","States","North Carolina","PETA","Charlotte"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad0b1c513d408d99/698777ae55a859ecb8a8506e/h_51158503.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Barber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad0b1c513d408d99/698777ae55a859ecb8a8506e/h_51158503.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Possum Drop in Brasstown, North Carolina","caption":"Possum Drop in Brasstown, North Carolina","creditText":"Erik S. 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