Peanut the Squirrel, also known as P’Nut, was an eastern gray squirrel and internet sensation who was seized from his owner, Mark Longo, on October 30th, 2024 in Pine City, New York. With over 918K followers on Instagram, Peanut held a significant social media presence for seven years. However, allegations of illegal wildlife ownership allegedly caused the animal influencer to be taken from his owners.
“While I think it’s important to have these systems in place to protect the animals, this was a step too far,” senior Steven Sibrian said.
“With it being the media, sometimes we do not hear the whole story, and there might be underlying reasons why they had to put the squirrel down,” special education teacher Ms. Bianco said. “While I never want to see an animal injured or put down, given the uncertainty of the media, I am very conflicted.”
In 2017, Longo, the owner of a New York animal sanctuary, found Peanut’s mother run over in the streets of New York City. Longo took the orphaned Peanut in, and gained thousands of devoted followers across various social media platforms who watched the journey of Peanut‘s life. Seven years later, an investigation was launched in response to anonymous complaints that Peanut, as well as Fred, a raccoon also kept by Longo and his wife Daniella, were being kept illegally. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation entered Longo’s home and captured both Peanut and Fred as a result. Hours later, both animals were euthanized due to concerns that they had rabies, a deadly virus found in the saliva of an infected animal. The capture of Peanut and Fred was met with extreme criticism by fans, and even violent threats to the agency, due to information that surfaced two weeks later that both tests came back negative.
Within the state of New York, only a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, who has also registered their pet as an educational animal, can rescue squirrels. However, another reason why the state government felt that it was necessary to send six armed officers to Longo’s house was because Peanut and Fred were reported to have rabies. Young wildlife pose the risk of carrying several diseases or infections that could be transferred to humans, adding to the DEC’s concern for public safety. On top of these risks, according to the DEC, “Inappropriate care given to young wildlife often results in abnormal attachment to humans.”
With Peanut’s death, the question that arises is: “What actually constitutes a pet, the government’s definition or personal connection?” According to the Oxford Dictionary, a pet is, “any domesticated or tamed animal kept for the purpose of companionship.” Squirrels are not true domesticated animals and although Longo stated that he was in the process of filing paperwork to get Peanut certified as an educational animal, at the time of Peanut’s seizure, no documents were filed.
According to official definitions, Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon could not be classified as pets by the government. Thousands of outraged fans on the internet, however, would disagree. These followers built a personal connection with these animals and expressed opinions that Peanut and Fred were beloved, well cared for and therefore should be considered pets, regardless of their legal legitimacy.
“As someone who owns a gecko, two turtles and a dog, I think it is unfair for New York State to mandate a license for owning wildlife mainly because, in my experience, unconventional pets are no different from my dogs,” sophomore Grace Kuskowski said. “The connection between a pet and its owner is something that could never be controlled by a higher power.”
