Group hopes to prevent 'œopossum dropping'ť on New Year's Eve

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A movement is growing in North Carolina to prevent the act of so-called 'œopossum dropping.'ť

The practice involves suspending an opossum in a transparent box on New Year's Eve and slowly lowering it the ground as people count down to midnight.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported Monday that a western North Carolina town had conducted opossum drops for 24 years.

Brasstown in Clay County dropped its last opossum in 2018. But the organization Animal Help Now wants to prevent anyone from doing it elsewhere. That will require a change to state law that allows people to do anything they want to opossums for five days each year.

The group started a petition and gathered almost 160,000 signatures before the petition closed. The group says it's continuing its legislative efforts.