Peanut, the social media squirrel at the center of national outrage after it was seized from its owner and euthanized, has tested negative for rabies.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation took the squirrel and a raccoon named Fred on October 30 from Mark Longo’s home and animal sanctuary in rural Pine City, near the Pennsylvania border.
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.
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.
A county official said on Tuesday that they tested negative.
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.
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.”
Earlier this week Longo claimed the home invasion was prompted by complaints from someone who didn’t approve of him shooting intimate footage with his wife, or that he had babysat his neighbor’s children on a separate occasion. He also told TMZ that everything he’s filmed with his wife has been legal and he’s not using the animals’ deaths to promote his OnlyFans.
The DEC said in a prepared statement there was an internal investigation and that they were reviewing internal policies and procedures.
