Really? People don't know that possums don't carry rabies? I've known that for years and just assumed it was common knowledge.
I don't shoot any animal that isn't an immediate threat or intended for my dinner table. I even let the coyote that ran up on me last deer season. It was cool to me to see it in the wild. I heard it coming from a good distance off (thought it was a hiker and his dog), but once it got into visual range, realized what it was. From 25yds away, we looked at each other for a moment before he trotted off.
I did shoot a rattlesnake years ago, but that was because it would not vacate our campsite after we had been there, with tents up and everything, for 16hrs. We had nearly 10 people in the camp and couldn't risk a bite that far away from civilization. A GP100 with CCI snake shot took his head off from 5-6' away.
Chris