Witnesses found a scene they couldn’t believe behind the Wetumpka City Administration Building on Tuesday evening.
The incident resulted in John Auen, 20, and Jeremiah Williams, 18, both of Wetumpka, being charged with animal cruelty.
“They beat a possum to death with a golf club,” Wetumpka police chief Ed Reeves said.
It occurred in the lower parking lot that is used as one of the entrances to Gold Star Park.
Reeves said he has investigated many strange things in his law enforcement career but not this.
“I’ve never seen this before,” Reeves said.
According to A-Z Animals.com, possums are nocturnal marsupials that can agilely navigate tall trees. Sometimes they venture into human areas and can be heard at night on a roof. They are omnivores eating almost anything they can find such as insects, eggs, fruits and flowers.
It is well-adapted for chewing and digesting tough plant matter that many other species cannot consume. They only act aggressively when they feel threatened. Some of their defensive behaviors include playing dead, growling, bearing teeth or secreting a bad odor. When they aren’t hunting, possums spend most of their time grooming or sleeping.
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