NEW YORK — Peanut, the social media star squirrel at the center of a national furor after being seized from his owner in upstate New York and euthanizedtested negative for rabies, a county official said Tuesday.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation took the squirrel and a raccoon named Fred on Oct. 30 from the Mark Longo Home and Wildlife Sanctuary in rural Pine City, near the state line. Pennsylvania. The agency said it had received complaints that wild animals were being held illegally and potentially dangerously, but authorities faced widespread criticism over the seizure. Officials said they have since faced violent threats.
DEC and Chemung County officials said the squirrel and raccoon were euthanized so they could be tested for rabies after Peanut bit a DEC employee involved in the investigation.
Chemung County Executive Chris Moss said tests on both animals came back negative during a news conference detailing the county’s role in the incident. He said the county is working with the state and following protocols.
In New York State, only licensed wildlife rehabilitators can legally rescue squirrels, and to legally keep a domesticated wild animal, it must also be registered as an educational animal.
“We were ready to comply, we were ready to get the documents, we were in the process of doing it. We needed a little guidance from the DEC,” Longo told CBS News New York earlier this month.
“I knew the test results were going to be negative”
Peanut has gained tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms in the seven years since Longo took him in after seeing his mother get hit by a car in New York. Longo said he was in the process of completing paperwork to get Peanut certified as an educational animal when he was seized.
Longo said Tuesday that the negative test results were not a surprise and criticized the government’s actions.
“It’s not really a shock to me, considering I lived with Peanut for seven and a half years and Fred for five months. I don’t have the foam,” he said. “I knew the test results were going to be negative.”
The DEC said in a prepared statement that there has been an internal investigation and that it is reviewing internal policies and procedures.
