An upstate New York squirrel beloved by hundreds of thousands of social media followers was seized and euthanized by state officials earlier this week.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Chemung County Department of Health announced through a statement on Friday afternoon that both a squirrel and racoon confiscated from a residence on Wednesday had been euthanized to test for rabies, USA TODAY reported. The statement said a person involved in the confiscation investigation was bitten by the squirrel.
Owners of Peanut the Squirrel, who has now amassed 550,000 followers on Instagram, confirmed his euthanasia in a video posted to Instagram Friday.
Here’s what to know.
What happened to Peanut the Squirrel?
Peanut the Squirrel was taken from his home in Pine City, just southwest of Elmira, by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation on Wednesday morning. Peanut, also known as PNUT, was the beloved pet of content creator Mark Longo. In more than 1,400 posts shared to Instagram, Peanut can be seen munching on waffles, jumping through hula-hoops, and greeting Longo home from work.
Over the past several days, Longo has shared several statements on Peanut’s Instagram account, keeping fans updated, in hopes that Peanut may return home.
“Peanut was the best thing that ever happened to us,” Longo said in a tear-filled video posted to Instagram Friday. “And we got confirmation that they put him down. I want to continue to fight this fight as much as I can…”
In response to Peanut’s seizure, a Change.org petition and GoFundMe campaign were created to “return him (Peanut)” to his family. As of Saturday morning, the petition had 35,589 signatures, and the GoFundMe has raised $36,323.
Who was Peanut the Squirrel?
Peanut was a rescue squirrel who had lived under Longo’s care for seven years.
Longo first connected with Peanut when he saw the squirrel’s mom get hit by a car, per previous USA TODAY reporting. Unfortunately, the mother passed, leaving Peanut an orphan. Longo was unsuccessful in finding a shelter that would take him in. Longo ended up feeding baby Peanut for about eight months before attempting to release him back into the wild.
“I released him in the backyard, and a day and a half later, I found him sitting on my porch, missing half his tail. So here I am, bawling my eyes out, like, I failed you as your human,” Longo told USA TODAY in 2022. “And I kind of opened the door, he ran inside and that was the last of Peanut’s wildlife career.”
For the first five years, Longo, Peanut, and Longo’s cat, Chloe, lived together in harmony.
Last year, Longo established P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary in Pine City. The nonprofit serves as a “haven where neglected and homeless animals receive a second chance at life,” according to its website. To date, 18 horses, one mini horse, four cows, three alpacas, one parrot, one pig and two geese call the sanctuary home, according to its website.
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Local lawmaker responds to euthanasia of Peanut the Squirrel
Congressman Nick Langworthy, who represents Chemung County in the 23rd Congressional District of New York, said people from around the country have reached out to his office about Peanut the Squirrel’s seizure and euthanasia.
“Reports are that following their unannounced raid of a home in Chemung County, the DEC Agents have gone ahead and unnecessarily killed their animals,” Langworthy said in a written statement Friday. “The pet owner has not been afforded due process, and now his pets are dead … I demand answers and will push until the administration comes clean.”
Why do animals have to be euthanized to test for rabies?
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, animals showing signs of rabies must be euthanized for the submission of specimen to a qualified rabies laboratory for testing. This is because a rabies test includes a “full cross-section of tissue from both the brain stem and cerebellum.” There are no approved methods for testing rabies in animals ante-mortem.
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Is it legal for squirrels to be kept as pets in NY?
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation states that it is illegal for young wildlife to be kept as pets.
“Inappropriate care given to young wildlife often results in abnormal attachment to humans,” the Department of Environmental Conservation states. “After release, some return to places where people live, only to be attacked by domestic animals or to be hit by cars. Some become nuisances getting into stored food, trash cans or dwellings. And some may be thrust as unwelcome intruders into the home range of another member of their species.”
If an individual finds a young wild animal that is injured or orphaned, the department recommends making a call to a wildlife rehabilitator, who “are the only people legally allowed to receive and treat distressed wildlife.” The goal of rehabilitators is to safely release the animal, when healthy, back into the wild.
Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network’s New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Peanut the Squirrel owner shares heartfelt reaction to death of pet
