Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have arrested 30-year-old Cameron Torrence in connection with a viral video showing an opossum being burned alive.
Torrence was charged with instigating cruelty to animals, probation violation, and fleeing arrest. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission linked the video to his Facebook account after receiving public complaints. Torrence was previously arrested in 2013 and pled guilty to two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.
Officials say multiple voices are heard in the footage and are investigating whether others were involved. No additional suspects have been named.
WCCB’s Morgan Fogarty has been one of the biggest advocates for the situation. Last month she made a post that received over 7,000 likes, 3,000 comments, and 2,000 shares, in which she states,
“Because this is not acceptable. These people won’t stop with this. They posted the video to their own social media accounts (sociopath doesn’t equal smart) and were loving in the attention they were getting. Posting more pictures of the animal. Making a mockery of the animal’s torture and death, promising a “funeral service” for the creature tomorrow – even putting out an address.
I made sure my contact at CMPD and NC Wildlife has that info, in case they want to send an officer.
I’m sharing this story because I believe in being a voice for the voiceless. As Morgan Rafael with the Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center said about this, “No, I can’t save this particular possum, but I can talk to the cruelty that wildlife faces…wildlife feels pain, too. No animal, no living being, deserves to be treated like this.””
