Peanut the Squirrel's owner blast officials for killing animal
CTV
A man who took in an orphaned squirrel and made it a social media star vowed Saturday that New York state's decision to seize and euthanize the animal 'won't go unheard.'
A man who took in an orphaned squirrel and made it a social media star vowed Saturday that New York state's decision to seize and euthanize the animal "won't go unheard."
"We will make a stance on how this government and New York state utilizes their resources," Mark Longo said in a phone interview.
He declined to specify his possible next steps but said officials would hear from him soon about what happened to Peanut the squirrel and Fred, a rescued raccoon that was also confiscated and put down.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation took the animals Wednesday from Longo's home and animal sanctuary in rural Pine City, near the Pennsylvania border. The agency said it had gotten complaints that wildlife was being kept illegally and potentially unsafely.
State law requires people to get a license if they wish to own a wild animal. Longo has said he was working to get Peanut -- also known as P'Nut or PNUT -- certified as an educational animal.
The DEC and the Chemung County Health Department said Friday that the squirrel and raccoon were euthanized so they could be tested for rabies after Peanut bit someone involved in the investigation.
Longo said Saturday that he didn't see Peanut bite anyone during what he described as an hourslong, heavy-handed search. The authorities haven't spoken with him since they left the property, he said.
