In August, an extremely disturbing video depicting a very young girl being forced by her parents to repeatedly shoot an opossum who wandered onto their porch was posted to Facebook. Visibly shaken and exclaiming in distress, "I don't want to shoot him!" the girl is directed, in front of two even younger children, to fire pellets again and again into the helpless animal. The traumatized girl pleads, "I don't like doing this," but to no avail, and the opossum, having been struck only about the body, suffers terribly during the ordeal. The video was posted with the caption "Well our dogs kept us up all night long cause [sic] that possum was eating their food. So I'm glad it's dead. [The girl] was a little sad cause [sic] her dad made her shoot it. 
she didn't like it." The family reportedly lives in Bee County, Texas.
PETA provided officials with everything they need to investigate (including names and an address) and has for months urged them to do just that, but our public records request reveals that no action was taken! Your voice is now needed! Politely urge officials to take this matter seriously for the sake of the children and the animal who suffered that day.
Please send polite comments to:
The Honorable Martha Warner
Bee County District Attorney's Office
martha.warner@co.bee.tx.us
Sheriff Carlos Carrizales Jr.
Bee County Sheriff's Office
carlos.carrizales@co.bee.tx.us
Major Larry Young
Texas Parks and Wildlife Division Law Enforcement
Region 10
larry.young@tpwd.state.tx.us
E-mail us a copy of your letter at StreetTeam@peta2.com for 500 points.
Poor baby
awe!
It's this F'd up "hunter/bully" mentality. They feel the need to prove their manhood by dominating a lesser life. They're frustrated ignorant cowards that are too afraid to take on something of equal size and skill because they know they will get hurt.
Keep the dog food inside the f*cking house if you don't want the possums eating it.
we have racoons and opossums come up on our porch and eat our cats food all the time and we capture them with raccoon traps and set them free in other woods …its easy and it doesn't hurt anything. People are so inconsiderate of other living beings i don't care what you all say everything has feeling just like us people.
This is horrible. It brought me to tears. I'm contacting these people.
this is disgusting, these people shouldn't be allowed to reproduce let alone live in our society
What kind've crap is this. Children being taught to torture a defenseless Oppossum for what? What the hell wasd it harming. Really makes me sick and the fact it was video taped and no one obviousely prosecuted for this inhumane cruelty makes me sick. Amy Luedke
Years ago an educated young social worker in the office next door to
Me was overheard talking about blasting an oppossum in the face without
Any difficulty because they are so ugly. I questioned her about it and she
Just responded again that it was because they were so ugly. I was at work
And it was really almost twenty years ago, but I want to hope I said that was
Cruel and disgusting.
Go figure the same woman drank too much alcohol one evening and went
Toner fiancee's lab at the local hospital asking for him to get her blood alcohol
Content. Here in Wisconsin we have lots of alcoholism. The stupidity, alcoholism
And lack of empathy make us number one on BornFree's website for
Fur farmers and trappers who exploit and abuse our beloved wildlife.
If you have any time let our Governor know how much you don't want
To come here. His current name is Scott Walker and he's up for recall.
One way to stop abuse is to channel anger into different avenues.
Some day people may learn that animals respected with their fur on are worth
More than destroying, but it will take lots of work! Glad to write a letter
On this one.
this is wack! what kind of parent incourages that. poor posseum.
not the opossum!
They are like giant rats and raccoons mixed together! poor baby, he didn't deserve this, and neither did the girl! Probably scarred for life now….
WHAT THE FRICK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? I CANNOT understand. Opossum's are actually the ONE animal you want in your yard, unlike raccoons and skunks, they don't dig holes and knock over garbage cans. They actually help clean up the community, they eat carrion(dead animals) and prefer to eat over ripe that's already on the ground verses climbing a tree and getting one. There practically immune to rabies and really just don't want anything to do with people. I hope authorities take action because that's just not right
What kind of parents force little children to do these kind of things???
What sort of people could do this? I'd like to do the same to them!
Thoughtless, shameful, cowardly behavior by the parents. These ADULTS (only in age) need to be held accountable and prosucuted legally for the evil they have done, both to their children and the possum.
AUTHORITIES HAVE TO PLACE IMMEDIATELY A BAN ON ATROCITIES, ON KILLINGS TO ALL LIVING CREATURES BY APPLY STRONGEST JUSTICE TO PERSONS RESPONSIBLE !
THESE KILLINGS AND ABUSES ARE UNBEARABLY FOR CIVILIZED SOCIETIES. KILLINGMONSTERS SHOULD GET SEPARATED FROM OTHER HUMANBEINGS FOR DON´T DISTURB THEIR FEELINGS IN A NONHUMANE WAY !
„The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.“
Mahatma Ghandi
Your GREATNESS LOOKS HORRIBLE !
I PERSONALLY WISH TORTURERES THAT THEY NEVER CAN SLEEP IN NIGHTS AND BE TORTURED BY THEIR OWN DRAMAS: EMPTINESS IN THEIR BRAINS and HEARTS.
These people do not deserve the name of humans.
Sent emails to the above addresses urging them to take action about this. It's ridiculous that something hasn't been done when the evidence is there for all to see. They're bringing up their children to be as violent and inhumane as they are.
this is sickness, poor animal! how could they!?!?! I have enough of these sick people! Animals have no voice, but we do!!!
I wish I could see animals turn the table on humans so they could be on the receiving end for once.
So true!!! I think about that all the time!!
Please everyone, bombard them with letters so they can't ignore this case of such cruelty! I just sent my letter to each person listed above with power of this case.
It makes me sick that nothing has been done, especially after this "people" posted the video of the horror!
These parents deserved at the very least to be locked up for several years in a tiny cage.
..horrible
This is so cruel, imagine demand a child to do so? Some e-mails I sent to the referred e-mail addresses failed permanently.
poor babies, plural: the opossum and the girl.
The girl is right, the father is (parents are) wrong.
These are parents, they should have their child taken away, this is child abuse and animal abuse!!!!!!!!!!
This is the girls father and step mother. The mother is doing her best to protect her daughter but can not control what they do on their visitations. Please help by writing the above authorities and encouraging others to do the same. This video as horrible as it is, is just a the tip of the iceberg of the animal and child abuse that goes on. I can only imagine what goes on that is not video taped and put on facebook. They apparently see no wrong in what they did or they would not have put it on facebook. That is scary to think that they see nothing wrong with torturing any living thing and making a child do it.
PLEASE! Do not allow these people to ever do this again! Theeir children should be taken away and their rights to their children should be stripped of them. They do not act like parents should and do not deserve to raise them further! And about the heartless way they treated another animal… there are no words other than shouting, angry, worthless words to describle these people and their actions. This is the most inhumane, redneck, and uncaring thing they could have ever done. This poor animal was just trying to stay alive and their are way more humane and kind ways to redirect animals and to teach kids about the wonders of wildlife. This would have been a perfect situation to show them how to be caring about their world. What this so called 'parent' did deserves a JAIL term and a harsh, steep fine that will send him to the 'clinker' with time to think about what he did and how he reacted!!! Who shot the video? Why would he post this on the Internet? I'm glad he did though as it brought attention to MANY and hopefully force will take place. DO NOT LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS HORRIFIC CRIME!!! Take the children away from him and teach him a VERY REAL LESSON! And it will teach the children "He was WRONG" .
The'f is this community coming to making your daughter shoot an animal, against her will. Abusing a wild animal is one thing, but videotaping it and forcing her to do that is a whole nother level of wrong. I have been around opossum all my life, and i just let them be. If they annoy them that much, then just trap them and put them back into the woods. Lazy, lazy cowardly people using weaponds to solve their problems. Poor little child, with a'holes for parents.
Not cool
stackars barn, han förtjänar inte detta, och inte heller flickan! Förmodligen ärrad för livet nu ….
And the innocence of a child is lost due to the ignorance of the parents. These parents should be in jailed for both ghastly acts of child abuse and animal abuse!
Great parents.
Write the editor of the local paper too. Let's make the community aware that the local authorities are not taking action. http://mysoutex.com/pages/form_editorial_bee
its just makes me sick to see this and even after the girl said she did't what to do this the parents made her shoot it
the parents should be lock up for animal abuse and child abuse
wth are they teaching those kids??!!
I live in Louisiana, and this is a very common practice around here. My mom works hard in her garden, and we frequently have armadillos rooting and digging up her plants. Of course my dad's solution is to kill them. I just can't stand it, but he won't listen to me! I wish these little animals were a bit more afraid so they could avoid situations like these.
Fucking POS! RIP little Oppossum.
This is horrible. Who lets their child do this?! Thid is wild animals abuse.
poor opossum! poor girl!
can this be considered child abuse!?
this is so disgusting
Everyone. Please check out the local newspapers report on this video. The DA claims no crime was committed. Please post comments on the article and continue to push for action.
http://mysoutex.com/view/full_story/17393763/article-Father-forces-girl-to-shoot-possum?instance=news_special_coverage_right_column
Not only is this animal abuse but it is child abuse.
not only did he do that. but there was a propane tank right there!
What the hell!! Ass hole!!
UNBELIEVABLY Cruel /disgusting and herendous. These childrenare being taught to mame / torture innocent helpless animals . Thsi is Corruption Of MINORS!!! Absolutely sick. Horrible. Please petition the Honorable Judge in texas to aact on this ASAP Thanks all. We neeed to stick together on this &other atrocities against animals & children ! Chuck
thats just horrible! how can people do this???