YouTuber Ross Creations under fire for making animal catapult that launches opossums

Popular YouTuber and prankster ‘Ross Creations’ is being accused of animal cruelty after inventing an ‘opossum launcher’ that tosses the furry critters several feet up in the air.

Florida-based influencer Ross Creations is best known for his YouTube channel, ‘Vlog Creations,’ where he uploads videos showing off his humorous inventions that he uses to prank unsuspecting strangers.

These projects have garnered millions of views each, earning him over 5 million total subscribers on the site and over 2 million followers on Instagram.

In one of his videos, he modified a Coca-Cola vending machine to dispense hot dogs to thirsty customers rather than soda, and in another, he installed a speaker in a crosswalk sign to scare pedestrians as they waited to cross the street.

His latest invention, however, is substantially less lighthearted and is racking up thousands of critical comments accusing the YouTuber of cruelty toward animals.

Ross Creations faces backlash over ‘opossum launcher’ invention

On November 30, 2025, Ross Creations uploaded a short video to his Instagram profile showing off a contraption he’d made called the ‘Opossum Launcher.’

The creation is exactly what it sounds like; an opossum will crawl up onto the trap, which has been baited with tasty treats, and get slingshotted high into the sky, falling to the ground with an audible thud.

In the video, Ross reviewed footage of his trap successfully yeeting an opossum into the air and sending it crashing to the ground several seconds later, seeming somewhat surprised that the creature was still alive after the ordeal as it limped away.

“It just walks away,” he said, simply captioning the video, “W.”

Commenters, however, were of a completely different mindset. In fact, Ross’s Instagram post now boasts a community note referencing Florida Statute 828.12, which defines cruelty to animals as “a person who unnecessarily overloads, overdrives, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance or shelter, or unnecessarily mutilates, or kills any animal.”

If found guilty, punishments for animal cruelty can result in both jail time and / or fines up to thousands of dollars.

“Probably has internal bleeding and walked off and died,” one commenter wrote. “Really like your stuff Ross, but really disappointed in this one.”

“I really like you dude, but this is making me change my mind. Please don’t do anything like this again,” another said.

“I love your content, but please don’t hurt animals,” another pleaded.

Ross has not yet responded to these concerns at the time of writing.

Instagram: creationsross

While it’s possible for the American opossum to carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans, their low body temperature greatly decreases this risk, especially in regards to rabies, as the virus cannot live in such low temperatures.

Although they are known to scavenge food from people’s trash cans, these animals are generally nonaggressive and would rather play dead than get into a fight (hence the term ‘playing possum’).

On top of this, they are also an excellent form of natural pest control, as they feed on mice, cockroaches, and even ticks, helping to reduce the risk of Lyme disease and keep local ecosystems in balance.