Even More Government Stupidity

If the Opossum Fits…Let Them Wear It


Check out this story:

OWEGO, NY--Possessing a possum without a permit puts people at peril.

That's according to New York's environmental conservation laws, which say it's illegal to possess wild animals without a state permit.

A Binghamton-area couple found that out after they had rescued a baby opossum they found in their back yard.

Tina and John Laskowski of Owego were hauled into court after a state conservation officer was tipped off that the couple had adopted the tiny marsupial a few months ago.

They named the injured opossum Webster and nursed him back to health.
Webster was turned over to an animal rehabilitator when the couple was charged with possession of small game without a permit.

A town justice found the animal-lovers guilty and sentenced them to an unconditional discharge.

State wildlife officials say wild animals can carry diseases and even little critters can become aggressive as they grow older.

I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but I have to say that this is a perfect example of how our government, at a local, state, and national level, is COMPLETELY off of track and has lost their bearings in the sea of life.

WHAT BUSINESS IS IT OF THE GOVERNMENT THAT THESE PEOPLE FOUND A BABY OPOSSUM IN THEIR BACK YARD AND DECIDED TO KEEP IT, RATHER THAN LETTING IT DIE SO THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CATS OR THE ANTS COULD EAT IT?

I say that the Government should butt the Hell out of these situations.

We had this cat when I was a kid—her name was Twinkle. She was an excellent kitty, but she did what kitty’s did and lurked around the yard and caught things like Chipmunks and other stuff.

The thing about Twinkle was that she just caught the little critters and played with them. She didn’t quite have the instinct to actually kill them upon capture. We would see her with her latest “toy” animal and just take it away from her and release it most of the time.

I remember this one time when we caught her after she had wrestled a Chipmunk around and hurt its leg and so we took her hostage away from her and kept it in a box in our garage until it recovered from the encounter, then we let it go.

We didn’t actually try to handle it or keep it in our bedrooms or pants pockets, we just let it rest and when it started bouncing off of the walls we let it go.

Under NY law, the police could have come to my parent’s home and wrote them a ticket or even hauled my father off to jail over saving a little Chipmunk’s life.

Fortunately, when I was a kid in our little town in southern Alabama, we went to church with the local Sheriff and I know that when he wasn’t hunting and fishing, he was out looking for real criminals instead of screwing around worrying about people coming to the rescue of so-called “dangerous” wild animals.

Would everyone in New York and New England please get a grip on life?

Please?