The State of New York might be facing a $10 million payout following the seizure and euthanization of Peanut the Squirrel.
For over seven years, this unique pet became a viral sensation, gathering more than 900,000 Instagram followers at the height of its fame.
Peanut’s global recognition began when his owners, Mark Longo and Daniela Bittner, started dressing him in costumes and teaching him amusing tricks.
However, both Peanut and his companion, Fred the raccoon, were seized and euthanized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in October 2024.
Longo announced the incident on Instagram, saying: “Well internet, you WON.
“You took one of the most amazing animals away from me because of your selfishness. To the group of people who called DEC, there’s a special place in hell for you.
“Today at 10am Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024… The NY State DEC showed up to my house and took Peanut. He was TAKEN to be EUTHANIZED. I’m in shock, disbelief, and disgusted with the people who did this to PNUT.
“For the last 7 years, Peanut has been my best friend. He’s been the center of my world and many of yours for so long, I don’t know how to process this, emotionally.”
At the time, the county’s health department and the DEC released a statement explaining they had been alerted about ‘potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets’, according to USA Today.
The owners are now pursuing a significant $10 million compensation for the state’s ‘execution’ of their cherished pets, citing emotional distress and financial losses in a legal complaint filed on Thursday (August 7), as reported by the New York Post.
Despite it being illegal to keep wild animals like squirrels and raccoons as pets in New York, DEC officials stated that Peanut bit an agent through thick leather gloves during the alleged five-hour raid, prompting rabies tests on both animals.
The state confirmed that both rabies tests came back negative, yet the lawsuit asserts that the DEC has neither apologized nor returned the animals’ remains.
The legal documents argue that the animals were not killed ‘due to a fear of rabies’ but rather as a ‘senseless act of violence’ and an ‘obscene demonstration of government abuse’, naming the state, the DEC, and DOH as defendants.
Longo also claims the incident was a planned ‘target’ and ‘assassination’ since squirrels are not known to transmit rabies.
He alleges that nine officers invaded his home during the raid and spent five hours ‘ransacking it’, stating that Peanut and Fred were not simply euthanized but ‘executed’.
On June 27, Longo and Bittner filed another lawsuit in Chemung County Supreme Court against the county, the City of Elmira, and 36 individuals from various levels of local and state government, seeking unspecified damages via a jury trial.
“Filing these lawsuits will allow us to create a movement,” Longo told USA TODAY. “This was a heinous act by an overpowering government who overreached.”
“As an animal lover, you love your animal, and you do whatever it takes to protect them,” he continued.
“They destroyed my family. I cry almost every day knowing that that portion of my life and that chapter is closed.”
Nora Constance Marino, the lawyer representing Longo and Bittner, stated: “We hope to obtain justice, not just for my clients and the violation of their rights, but for Peanut and Fred, and all animals. We hope that Peanut’s and Fred’s deaths will not have been in vain.”
The couple also claims they have suffered emotional distress from the deaths of Peanut and Fred, as well as financial losses.
The globally recognized rodent was featured in monetized social media posts, OnlyFans content, and cameo appearances, as detailed in the lawsuits.
UNILAD has reached out to the DEC and DOH for their comments.