Peanut, the Instagram-famous squirrel, euthanized by New York state authorities
By Kristie Keleshian
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NEW YORK (WCBS/WLNY) — A pet squirrel that gained social media fame was euthanized by state wildlife officials as part of a test for rabies.
The squirrel’s owner claims excessive force was used to seize his pet earlier this week.
Wildlife officials said it is illegal to own the wild animal.
Owner Mark Longo launched Peanut the squirrel to social media fame over the past seven years.
In a video posted to his Instagram account, Longo said through tears, “Peanut was the best thing that ever happened to us.”
The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation seized the pet, along with Longo’s pet raccoon Fred, Wednesday.
“You need that many officers?”
“On Oct. 30, DEC seized a raccoon and squirrel sharing a residence with humans, creating the potential for human exposure to rabies. In addition, a person involved with the investigation was bitten by the squirrel. To test for rabies, both animals were euthanized,” the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Chemung County Department of Health said in a statement. “The animals are being tested for rabies and anyone who has been in contact with these animals is strongly encouraged to consult their physician.”
Longo said the raid on his home and farm, known as P’nuts Freedom Farm, took five hours.
“You need that many officers to show up to my house to literally pull my closets apart?” Longo said.
Tens of thousands of signatures in an online petition demanded Peanut’s return before Friday afternoon, but wild animals are considered property in New York.
“We were ready to comply”
“People have good intentions. But it is typically illegal and very unethical to keep a wild animal as a pet,” Emily Einhorn of the Wild Bird Fund said.
The Wild Bird Fund rescues, rehabilitates and releases wild animals, including squirrels.
“They live in trees. That is what they’re meant to be in, is a tree. Not indoors,” Einhorn said.
The only way to legally rescue squirrels is to become a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, a process that can take months.
“That’s followed by either volunteering, interning and then eventually working at a wildlife rehabilitation clinic,” Einhorn said.
To legally keep a domesticated wild animal, it also has to be registered to be an educational animal.
“We were ready to comply, we were ready to get the paperwork, we were in the process of doing that. We needed a little bit of guidance from the DEC,” Long said.
He says he plans to take legal action over what he considered was excessive force from the raid.
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