Phhoto Credit (Pixabay)
After being captured during a raid by New York police, a squirrel that gained widespread fame on social media was put to death.
Seven years ago, Mark Longo saved the squirrel, named Peanut, after witnessing its mother being struck by a car in New York City.
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The peculiar creature, who has over 533,000 Instagram followers, was spotted sitting on the 34-year-old’s shoulder, eating waffles, leaping through hoops, and sporting a cowboy hat.
However, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) took Peanut and a raccoon named Fred from Mr. Longo’s Pine City house on Wednesday in response to several anonymous complaints.
The DEC and Chemung County Department of Health confirmed Friday that both animals had been put down.
“DEC discovered a raccoon and squirrel living in the same house as people on October 30, raising the possibility of rabies exposure for people. Additionally, the squirrel bit someone who was working on the investigation. Both animals were put down to test for rabies,” the authorities stated in a statement, as reported by CBS News in New York.
“The DEC came to my house and raided my house without a search warrant to find a squirrel!” stated Mr. Longo, who operates P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, an animal sanctuary named after his squirrel.
“I was treated as if I were a drug dealer, and they were going for drugs and guns.”
Mr. Longo raised Peanut for eight months after bringing him to his old house in Norwalk, Connecticut, before attempting to reintroduce him to the wild.
However, the environmentalist concluded that the squirrel could not survive in the wild after discovering it “sitting on my porch, missing half of his tail with his bone sticking out” almost two days later.
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Before learning of Peanut’s demise, Mr. Longo wrote on Instagram that people should report the squirrel to the DEC, saying, “Well, internet, you WON.”
“Due to your selfishness, you took away from me one of the most magnificent animals. There is a specific spot in hell reserved for the gang of people who called DEC.
Owning a squirrel or other wild animal without a license is illegal in the state of New York. Mr. Longo claimed to be aware of this and to have been preparing documentation before the raid to confirm Peanut’s status as an educational animal.
He continued: “If we’re not following the rules, guide us in the right direction to follow the rules, you know?”
