Social media star Peanut the squirrel tests negative for rabies after being euthanized, official says
NEW YORK — Peanut, the social media star squirrel at the center of a national furor after it was seized from its owner in upstate New York and euthanized, has tested 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 Mark Longo's home and animal sanctuary in rural Pine City, near the Pennsylvania border. The agency said it had received complaints that wildlife was being kept illegally and potentially unsafely, but officials have faced a barrage of criticism for the seizure. Government workers said they have since faced violent threats.
The DEC and the Chemung County officials have said the squirrel and raccoon were euthanized so they could be tested for rabies after Peanut bit a DEC worker involved in the investigation.
Chemung County Executive Chris Moss said tests on the two animals came back negative during a news conference detailing the county's role in the incident. He said the county worked with the state and followed protocols.
In New York state, only licensed wildlife rehabilitators can legally rescue squirrels, and 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," Longo told CBS News New York earlier this month.
"I knew the test results were going to be negative"
Peanut gained tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms in the more than seven years since Longo took him in after seeing his mother get hit by a car in New York City. Longo has said he was in the process of filing paperwork to get Peanut certified as an educational animal when he was seized.
Longo on Tuesday said the negative test results were no surprise and criticized the government's actions.
"It's no real big shocker to me, considering I lived with Peanut for seven-and-a-half years and Fred for five months. I'm not foaming at the mouth," he said. "I knew the test results were going to be negative."
The DEC said in a prepared statement there was an internal investigation and that they were reviewing internal policies and procedures.
