A New Orleans man wants his opossum back. Thousands have joined his plea.
A man in New Orleans who is lonely because of a possum named Saffron, which he raised as a pet and dressed in a colorful sweater, is appealing to authorities to return the animal, which was taken from him by state wildlife officials.
Thousands have backed an online petition to reunite the man with his marsupial.
William Voiles, an artist who makes woven trinkets, said the 1-year-old opossum was seized earlier this month during Mardi Gras celebrations in the city's French Quarter as part of a public safety effort. From a friend petition on Change.org to bring Saffron home had collected nearly 4,000 signatures by Wednesday afternoon.
In an interview on Wednesday, the 50-year-old Mr. Voiles said he and his friends appealed to law enforcement, biologists, veterinarians, online supporters and even Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry for help.
Saffron was part of a menagerie, including a rabbit and two dogs, all named after spices Mr. Voiles was driving through New Orleans on a tricycle with basket and trailer.
Most days, Mr. Voiles said, he bikes the animals to a hill above the Mississippi River, where he weaves crosses, fleurs-de-lis and other items, which he sells to pay for pet food and rent. He and his pets also visited Cafe Envie in the French Quarter, where customers found Saffron sprawled over Mr. Voiles' shoulders or curled up in the tricycle basket.
Mr Voiles said he took Saffron into his home last year, six weeks after the death of his longtime companion, a 12-year-old pit bull called Cinnamon.
He said he was on his way to the French Quarter when he saw a dead opossum on the side of the road, with a joey “crawling on top of her, no bigger than my thumb.”
Baby opossums are born naked and blind, about the size of honey bees, after a gestation period of just under two weeks.
“He didn't have his eyes open or anything,” Mr. Voiles said. “When I picked him up, I wasn't thinking about breaking a law, I was thinking about saving a life.”
Mr Voiles brought the possum to the house he shared with a housemate and the other animals and fed him from a bottle.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement officers seized the opossum during a Mardi Gras patrol in the neighborhood, the agency said in a press release.
The officers issued Mr. Voiles a citation for trespassing Louisiana's title 56a law that says that four-legged animals and other wild animals may not be 'taken' without a permit.
Officers also seized a 15-foot reticulated python, a 10-foot reticulated python and a 3-foot ball python during the Mardi Gras patrols.
Mr. Voiles faces state charges for illegal possession of the opossum, which could result in a fine of up to $500 and 90 days in jail, the agency said.
Mr Voiles said he begged officers to let him keep Saffron, who was dressed in a blue and green jumper. He argued that the animal would not survive if returned to the wild.
“The first thing he saw was a rabbit, two dogs and me,” Mr Voiles said of the possum. “He was my little baby.”
He also said the animal posed no risk to humans. Opossums are highly resistant to rabiesand they are less likely to bite or scratch people than raccoons or skunks.
“The only time he ever bit anyone was when he was teething,” Mr Voiles said.
Following a tip, Mr. Voiles and his friends called the biology department at Louisiana State University looking for Saffron. People at LSU suggested, after confirming the opossum wasn't there, that they try a field office for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in Hammond, a city about 45 miles northwest of New Orleans. No luck, so Mr. Voiles called wildlife rehabilitation centers across the state.
Taylor Brazan, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said that because the case against Mr. Voiles was pending, she was not authorized to say where he was being held.
Mr. Voiles said that, as an Army brat whose parents worked long hours, he never developed close human relationships, relying instead on the companionship of animals.
Saffron wasn't his first pet marsupial.
While working as a tree trimmer in Alabama, he said he brought home many abandoned baby animals, including five or six squirrels, a few skunks and a possum that had invaded a neighbor's house.
Mr Voiles said the animals gave him purpose when he was struggling with drug addiction and bouts of unemployment.
He said Saffron had free rein in the house but the possum tended to sleep in a cupboard behind the door, waking Mr Voiles at around 3am when he started wandering around.
“I miss waking up next to him,” Mr. Voiles said.