Social media star Peanut the Squirrel has been euthanized after being seized from NY home

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Social media star Peanut the Squirrel has been euthanized after being seized from NY home

Two days after he was seized from his home in New York, Peanut the Squirrel has been euthanized.

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. The statement said a person involved in the confiscation investigation was bitten by the squirrel.

Peanut the Squirrel, who boasted

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, was taken from his home in Pine City, New York, by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation on Wednesday morning. Peanut, also known as PNUT, was the beloved **** of content creator Mark Longo. In more than 1,400 posts shared to

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, Peanut can be seen munching on waffles, jumping through hula-hoops, and

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.

According to DEC and health department statement, rabies have been found in racoons in New York’s Southern Tier, which includes Pine City, for more than 30 years.

Over the past several days, Longo has shared several statements on

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, keeping fans updated, in hopes that Peanut may return home. At the time of publication, Longo had not posted in regards to the recent news.

“It has been a terrible nightmare for me,” Longo said in his most recent

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, posted Friday morning.

In response to Peanut’s seizure, a

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and

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were created to “return him (Peanut)” to his family. As of Friday afternoon, the petition had 28,025 signatures, and the GoFundMe has raised $7,875.

Rabies: Rabid bats sparked a public health warning in Illinois: Why rabies is dangerous to humans, pets

Why do animals have to be euthanized to test for rabies?

According to the

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, 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.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Chemung County Department of Health advised that anyone who has been in contact with the seized squirrel or racoon consult a physician.

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

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. 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 ******* you as your human,” Longo told

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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

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in Pine City. The nonprofit serves as a “haven where neglected and homeless animals receive a second chance at life,” according to its

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. 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

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.

USA TODAY contacted Longo but was unsuccessful in connecting with him for an interview.

Is it legal for squirrels to be kept as pets in NY?

The

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states that it is ******** for young wildlife to be kept as pets.

“Inappropriate care given to young wildlife often results in abnormal attachment to humans,” the

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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

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The goal of rehabilitators is to safely release the animal, when healthy, back into the wild.

This story has been updated to correct a grammatical error.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and

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@gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at *****@*****.tld.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:

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#Social #media #star #Peanut #Squirrel #euthanized #seized #home

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