Petition Target: Dubuque County Attorney Scott Nelson; Dubuque Police Department
A terrified possum was ruthlessly beaten to death with folded metal chairs in a horrifying video allegedly taken by two Iowa teens for social media. The video appears to show a defenseless possum repeatedly struck with chairs which were swung overhead like axes and then brought down upon the helpless animal.
Possums are gentle, shy creatures who involuntarily “play dead” when threatened by predators, leaving them unable to run away. In this horrifying situation, the scared, vulnerable animal lay still – occasionally twitching – as the beating went on.
While the video shows two people taking turns beating the innocent animal, only the teen who posted the video has been charged, according to KCRG News. The single misdemeanor charge — for killing a fur-bearing animal out of season — fails to address the severity of the cruelty the possum suffered.
No animal deserves to be brutally beaten to death.
Animal abuse often leads to violence against humans. Psychological intervention is needed for the individuals involved to prevent future tragedies.
Sign our petition encouraging law enforcement to treat this case with the severity it deserves and to require psychiatric intervention for the person(s) responsible before another innocent animal – or human – can be harmed.
