It’s hard to believe that a squirrel could swing a presidential election, but it’s 2024, and here we are.
It all started last week, when an Instagram-famous rodent named Peanut was taken from a home near Elmira, New York, with a raccoon named Fred. Peanut has lived with Mark Longo and his wife Daniela for the past seven years. Fred lived there for about five months. Saving Peanut from imminent death and bonding with him inspired the couple to start a nonprofit animal sanctuary – P’Nut Freedom Farm – and leave Fred on their doorstep.
But then, on October 30, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) decided to raid their home, and after a five-hour search, the two animals were confiscated. According to a statement to Winnie, a local TV station, by the DEC and the county health department, Peanut bit investigators, and both animals had to be euthanized in order to test for rabies.
On a more logical timeline, animal caretakers and lovers would mourn her, and perhaps spark online discourse about the ethics of keeping wild animals indoors, as de facto pets (all other animals in their care live outside). But like Murphy’s Law of 2024, if something becomes popular, it must become political.
So when Longo posted about his anger at the FEC for using tax dollars to raid his nonprofit shelter, it was picked up by local Republican politicians blaming Governor Kathy Hochul. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, then engaged in reminding the squirrel to forget while his followers began pulling out the AI sludge of former President Donald Trump and Peanut standing triumphantly together. Trump’s campaign posted on TikTok: “Vote Trump for Peanut.” His account wrote that Peanut was “needlessly murdered by Democratic bureaucrats in New York,” adding: “We will avenge you on Tuesday at the ballot box.”
By Sunday, the squirrel was on the cover of New York Post.
Longo says Rolling Stone He’s surprised that in such a fraught week in American history, anyone cares that much about his squirrel, but he appreciates the outpouring of support. “The fact that my squirrel made national global history [in] he says: “The past week has been nothing short of amazing.” Rolling Stone. “But that’s not what I wanted from this. I wanted my animal.”
Who is Peanut and how did he become a famous squirrel?
About seven years ago, Mark Longo, who lived in Connecticut and worked in New York, was leaving his job in the city and saw a squirrel hit a car. When he went to scare his child back to the sidewalk, the squirrel ran over his leg instead. With one eye open and a bad limp, Longo started calling local veterinarians. He told the YouTube channel: “They all said they would probably euthanize him.” Koalas in 2022. “So I started looking for squirrels.” He said that after eight months of rehabilitation, Peanut was released into his backyard, but the squirrel was quickly attacked by another animal, losing half of his tail in the process. “That was pretty much the end of Peanut’s career in the wild,” he said. Still, it sparked his interest in animal rescue. He launched an Instagram page for his pet, started his career as an OnlyFans model (yes, his name there is Squirrel Daddy), and within a few years, he had enough money for him and his wife to give up city life and live in Western New York.
Most of the animals they took in-horses and alpacas-didn’t require a license. But it wasn’t legal for the star of the operation, Peanut, as a potential rabies carrier, to live indoors for long. About six months ago, after the peanut’s star began to rise, anonymous complaints poured in to the Department of Environmental Conservation. He received a call warning him to treat the state properly, and began the process of registering the peanut as a teaching animal. “My wife and I went and took the wildlife [rehabilitator] license [test]”, he says. “We were in the process of filing the paperwork. We were doing our due diligence.” He says they had occasional visits from local wildlife services but never found any issues on the farm. He says: “Animal control became an acquaintance,” he says. “They used to get a lot of calls and complaints, and they would come here and say, ‘Everything is fine. All the animals here are fine.”
When did Fred the Raccoon participate?
According to Longo, Fred was left on the shelter’s doorstep a month or two after that initial call from DEC. He says he and his wife were so moved by the animal that, admittedly, they didn’t seek an additional license to keep him. He says: “He had almost 60 tags that we removed,” he says. “We cleaned him up, we groomed him, and he was going back into the wild as soon as he was old enough.” Fred quickly became one of the stars of their social media channels.
What happened with the raid?
While DEC did not respond to Rolling StoneUpon request for comment, Longo claims the raid was an organized effort by internet trolls to flood the agency with anonymous complaints. As he tearfully recounted several times over the past days, after a judge signed a search warrant, six DEC officers plus a handful of other law enforcement officers arrived at his home to demand the squirrel and raccoon.
He says: “My wife immediately told the police officers where Fred was,” he says. “We actually tried to keep Peanut away, to see if I could talk to them from the ledge.” He says the investigation lasted five hours, which meant his rescue horses missed multiple meals and necessary care because he couldn’t take care of them. He says: “These are animals that starved to death,” he says. “And now you’re starving them yourself.”
Since the raid, Longo has been quick to criticize the Department of Environmental Conservation – a statewide agency that operates in Albany – for its handling of their case. He says he’s had plenty of interactions with local wildlife authorities, and they haven’t found any issues at the farm.
And then things got political?
He says: “I’m the first to say I shy away from politics, but this excites me in the sense of, “This is how government is run in New York State?” Rolling Stone. “I don’t want Bent’s name to die in vain.”
Keeping a raccoon – an animal known to carry rabies – in their home without a proper license was illegal, but they have hired a lawyer and plan to pursue legal action, although Longo declined to comment specifically on what that would look like.
Some Republicans have used this as an opportunity to take legal action. Over the weekend, New York State Assemblyman Jake Blumenkranz announced on Channel X that he would introduce the “Peanut Act: The Humane Animal Protection Act.” But overwhelmingly, the right’s reaction was to simply portray Democrats as the party of rampant government overreach that kills helpless animals, and Trump as the only person capable of saving the country. “Are these the same people who killed my whale and my bear? And what happened to the head?” Kennedy Jr. joked on Channel X, referring to the confusing animal-related scandals that plagued his campaign this summer. “Just asking for a friend.”