Senseless Cruelty to Become Legal in North Carolina – Urgent Action Needed!
April 16, 2015
Oppose H.B. 574, a bill that will legalize horrific cruelty against opossums
Please forward this message to *everyone* you know in North Carolina.
H.B. 574 was introduced on April 2nd and is perhaps one of the most horrible pieces of legislation we have ever come across. If passed into law it would remove *ALL*protections from opossums for the period of December 29 through January 2 of the following year.
Written to protect an event held each year in Clay County known as the “possum drop” where an opossum is dropped to celebrate the new year, this bill opens the door for *all*forms of horrific and wanton abuse to be made legal for five days out of the year.
I don’t think we need to tell you what *will* happen to these harmless animals if abusing them were to become legal. The horrific cruelty they will endure at the hands of sadistic and violent maniacs will be the kinds of things that horror novels are written of.
Representatives Roger West, Mike Hager, Pat McElraft, and Marvin W. Lucas are the primary sponsors of this bill. Please call or write to them at the contact info listed below and urge them to withdraw their horrible bill.
Representative Roger West
N.C. House of Representatives
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1229
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
919-733-5859
Roger.West@ncleg.net
Representative Mike Hager
N.C. House of Representatives
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 301F
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
919-733-5749
Mike.Hager@ncleg.net
Representative Pat McElraft
N.C. House of Representatives
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 634
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
919-733-6275
Pat.McElraft@ncleg.net
Representative Marvin W. Lucas
N.C. House of Representatives
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 509
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
919-733-5775
Marvin.Lucas@ncleg.net
The bill was passed by the NC House of Representatives and now resides in the Senate Rules and Operations committee. PLEASE IMMEDIATELY contact the members of the Rules and Operations committee and urge them to kill H.B. 574 by not voting on it in committee.
Rules and Operations of the Senate
Chairman
Tom Apodaca
N.C. Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 2010
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
(919) 733-5745
Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net
Vice-Chairman
Senator Tommy Tucker
N.C. Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1127
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
(919) 733-7659
Tommy.Tucker@ncleg.net
Senator Chad Barefoot
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 308
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 715-3036
Chad.Barefoot@ncleg.net
Senator Dan Blue
N.C. Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1129
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
(919) 733-5752
Dan.Blue@ncleg.net
Senator Andrew C. Brock
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 523
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 715-0690
Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net
Senator Harry Brown
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 300-B
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 715-3034
Harry.Brown@ncleg.net
Senator Ben Clark
N.C. Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1117
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
(919) 733-9349
Ben.Clark@ncleg.net
Senator Joel D. M. Ford
N.C. Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1119
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
(919) 733-5955
Joel.Ford@ncleg.net
Senator Kathy Harrington
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 300-C
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 733-5734
Kathy.Harrington@ncleg.net
Senator Ralph Hise
N.C. Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1026
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
(919) 733-3460
Ralph.Hise@ncleg.net
Senator Brent Jackson
N.C. Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 2022
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
(919) 733-5705
Brent.Jackson@ncleg.net
Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr.
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 629
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 733-4599
Floyd.McKissick@ncleg.net
Senator Wesley Meredith
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 314
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 733-5776
Wesley.Meredith@ncleg.net
Senator E. S. (Buck) Newton
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 621
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 715-3030
Buck.Newton@ncleg.net
Senator Bill Rabon
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 311
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 733-5963
Bill.Rabon@ncleg.net
Senator Josh Stein
N.C. Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1113
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
(919) 715-6400
Josh.Stein@ncleg.net
Senator Trudy Wade
N.C. Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 521
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 733-5856
Trudy.Wade@ncleg.net
SAMPLE LETTER
To: Members of the North Carolina Senate Rules and Operations Committee
North Carolina General Assembly
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
April 16, 2015
Dear Senator:
Please oppose H.B. 574, a bill that will legalize horrific cruelty against opossums.
H.B. 574 would remove all protections related to the capture, captivity, or treatment of opossums in Virginia between the dates of December 29 of each year and January 2 of each subsequent year. This horribly short-sighted bill opens the door to unimaginable and senseless cruelty being brought upon opossums for any and all reasons, or for none at all.
Animal abuse and cruelty known no depths, and H.B. 574 will ensure that the helpless opossum will endure horrific cruelty and torture for five days without the perpetrators of the cruelty facing any charges at all, regardless of the degree of violence, sickness, or depravity of their actions. Legalized animal cruelty is not something North Carolina should be known for.
Please oppose H.B. 574 and do not allow it to advance in the House of Representatives.
Sincerely…
your name and contact info