P'Nut the Squirrel was executed -- not euthanized, his owner claims in bombshell lawsuit
P'Nut wants payback.
The beloved pet squirrel and his raccoon sidekick, Fred, were not euthanized – they were viciously executed by New York authorities, according to a blistering new lawsuit.
On Oct. 30, a swarm of cops and agents from the state Environmental Conservation and Health departments descended on Mark Longo's upstate Pine City animal sanctuary.
Advertisement
The two animals were living peacefully inside Longo's home, but it is illegal to keep squirrels and raccoons as pets in New York, where they're classified as wild animals.
4 P'Nut was slaughtered 'not due to a fear of rabies' – but as a 'senseless act of violence' and 'obscene demonstration of government abuse,' the lawsuit charges.
PNut the Squirrel/ Instagram
During the raid, DEC officials claimed, P'Nut bit one of its agents through thick leather gloves, which required the state to euthanize and decapitate the animals in order to test their brain tissue for rabies.
Advertisement
Later, the state admitted the rabies tests were both negative – but it has never apologized nor returned the bodies of either pet.
The episode, which occurred just before the presidential election, was decried by outraged animal lovers and conservatives alike as a vicious example of governmental overreach.
Longo and his wife, Daniela Bittner, doubled down in a 40-page lawsuit filed Friday in Chemung County Supreme Court.
4 Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela Bittner, doubled down in a 40-page lawsuit filed Friday in Chemung County Supreme Court.
LP Media
Advertisement
P'Nut and Fred were slaughtered 'not due to a fear of rabies' – but as a 'senseless act of violence' and 'obscene demonstration of government abuse,' the documents charge.
The suit alleges the bite never happened – and if it did, the agent should have been vaccinated against the disease, and trained in the safe handling of animals.
'The fact that none of these factors came into play demonstrates one of two things – that there was in fact no bite, and this story was fabricated, or, if there was a bite, that it was due strictly to the defendants' own incompetence,' the court filing states.
4 'This is our opportunity to make change and seek justice for P'Nut and Fred,' Longo told The Post.
PNut the Squirrel/ Instagram
Advertisement
Longo and Bittner said their demands for the animals' remains have been ignored, and that their killings exceeded the scope of the search warrant executed that day.
The couple has suffered emotional trauma and financial losses since losing their star squirrel, who had become an Internet celebrity, appearing in social media posts, OnlyFans content, Cameos and other monetized media, according to the lawsuit.
The suit names defendants spanning every level of local and state government, including state DEC agents Erick Dalecki, Richard McNamara, Matthew Baker, Steven Farrand, John Lifrieri and Joshua Crain — who executed the search warrant — along with 20 unidentified DEC investigators.
Also named are Chemung County, its sheriff's office and health department, plus 10 unnamed county officials. The City of Elmira, its police department and Elmira Animal Control are also listed, alongside 10 additional unidentified city agents.
4 The lawsuit names state DEC agent Joshua Crain, who executed the search warrant for Longo's Pine City home on Oct. 30.
NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation
The suit seeks unspecified damages to be determined by a jury trial.
'This is our opportunity to make change and seek justice for P'Nut and Fred,' Longo told The Post.
Advertisement
'I hope justice is done, not just for my clients, but for our civil rights, P'Nut and Fred, and all animals,' said his lawyer, Nora Constance Marino.
The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
911 calls reveal aftermath of Conner Smith crash that killed 77-year-old woman
ConnerSmith's car accident in #Nashville sparked a flurry of 911 calls … and, in one, a caller says the person who was hit was actually sitting up in the street after the crash. #Exclusive story in bio! 🎥: Nashville DEC The 77-year-old pedestrian who was allegedly killed by country singer Conner Smith in Nashville earlier this month may have been alert in the moments after she was struck by his truck, newly released 911 calls indicate. One caller told the emergency hotline on July 8 that the elderly woman was propped up in a 'sitting' position in the street after being struck by a black truck in a 3rd Avenue crosswalk, audio obtained by TMZ indicates. 'Someone's been hit by a truck. I think there's a couple people that have already gotten through to 911, but they have them sitting up in the street now in front of the truck,' the unidentified female caller, said, identifying the vehicle responsible for the accident as a 'black Chevy truck.' 3 Conner Smith allegedly killed a woman in a Nashville car accident. Penske Media via Getty Images At least three other concerned callers alerted 911 before emergency services reached the scene of the accident, but all appeared relatively calm regarding the collision. One caller told 911 they weren't sticking around until EMS arrived because there were 'a lot of people and a couple of nurses' with the victim, who was later identified as Dorothy Dobbins. Whether Dobbins was sitting up on her own accord or with the help of bystanders is unclear, but the 77-year-old woman later died at a local hospital from her injuries. Smith, 24, who rose to fame for his 2022 hit 'I Hate Alabama,' stayed at the scene of the accident, according to police. 3 Smith had failed to yield to Dorothy Dobbins, 77, on the marked crosswalk, cops said. WSMV Cops alleged that the singer failed to yield to Dobbins on the marked crosswalk, but showed no signs of impairment or that he was using his cellphone. No charges have been filed in the case. 'On June 8th, Mr. Smith was involved in a car accident that tragically claimed a life. His heart goes out to Ms. Dobbins' family during this incredibly difficult time. Mr. Smith continues to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation,' his attorney, Worrick G. Robinson, told TMZ. The 'Orange and White' singer has since pulled out of two festivals he was scheduled to perform at. 3 Smith had performed in the Tennessee city the same day as the accident. Getty Images Smith had shared an Instagram post on the day of the fatal incident, which featured photos of him singing onstage while wearing a 'Nashville' T-shirt. 'Hometown hits different ❤️,' he captioned the photos.
Politico
2 hours ago
- Politico
Dead lawmakers tweet from beyond the grave
After Zohran Mamdani's apparent victory in the New York Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday, former Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) liked an Instagram post congratulating him on his win. The only problem — Jackson Lee died last July. From ghost-likes and new profile pictures to a posthumous endorsement, accounts for dead lawmakers have seemingly resurrected on social media in an unsettling trend of beyond-the-grave engagement. 'Dear White Staffers,' an anonymous account dedicated to highlighting experiences and perspectives of non-white congressional staffers, on Wednesday posted a screenshot of a notification that the late Texas representative's account had liked the congratulatory post for Mamdani, captioning the screengrab with a quizzical emoji. But Jackson Lee isn't the only deceased lawmaker whose presence continues to be felt online. Rep. Sylvester Turner, a Democrat who filled Lee's Texas seat for a brief two months before his own passing in March 2025, appeared to change his profile picture on X three weeks after he died. 'Happy #OpeningDay!' Turner's personal account posted on MLB Opening Day, adding the hashtag 'NewProfilePic' along with a photo of the late lawmaker holding a baseball. A community guidelines note affixed by X to the post noted that 'Sylvester Turner died on March 5, 2025.' The post appeared to shock many X users, who commented on how uncanny it was to see the deceased lawmaker active on their feeds. 'Grim,' one user wrote, while another asked: 'So no one on his team thinks this is weird?' Former Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat who died in May, has also continued to make waves from beyond the grave, as his political social media accounts chugged back to life to notify followers that early voting had begun in the race to fill his vacant seat. Before his passing, Connolly had endorsed his former chief of staff, James Walkinshaw, to replace him, having announced that he planned to step away from Congress after his esophageal cancer returned in April. People on Connolly's mailing list have also reportedly continued receiving emails from the late representative's campaign encouraging Virginians to vote for Walkinshaw in Saturday's special election, the newsletter Chaotic Era highlighted — and directing donations to Walkinshaw's campaign. But after Connolly's posthumous post came under scrutiny this week, it disappeared from the late Virginian's page on Thursday. Brian Garcia, communications director for Walkinshaw's campaign, emphasized that the campaign does not direct the content posted from Connolly's accounts. 'Supervisor Walkinshaw is proud to have earned the support of Congressman Connolly before he passed away and to now have the support of the Connolly family,' he said. The bio for Connolly's page notes that the lawmaker died in May, and says that posts on the page are made with Connolly's family's consent. Turner's account also appears to be run by his family, with the account recently posting a video featuring his daughter promoting a Houston parade he championed. But the case of posthumous tweeting fingers isn't a new phenomenon. An account for political activist, brief 2012 GOP presidential primary leader and staunch Trump supporter Herman Cain resurfaced two weeks after he died in July 2020 from a weekslong battle with Covid-19. The account posted attacks at then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and pro-Trump content — as well as conspiracy theories about the virus that had taken Cain's own life. The posts initially appeared under Cain's original account, bearing his name and profile picture. But his daughter shortly thereafter explained in a blog post that members of his family had taken over his social media presence and would continue posting under the new name 'Cain Gang.' The account remained active until March 2021, when it released its final post, saying 'It's time.' How to handle the social media presence of politicians when they die is a fairly new phenomenon. If a member of the House dies, for example, their office often remains open to fulfill constituent services — and sometimes continues posting to social media, albeit not typically under the lawmaker's name. And there's even less clarity around lawmakers' social media accounts that they use for campaigning, as opposed to official work. Zack Brown, who was the communications director for Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) when he died in office in March 2022, said there is no official process for handing off control of lawmakers' social media accounts if they die while still serving. That leaves communications staff in an awkward bind on how to proceed with languishing accounts, he said. Although there were content rules on what staff members were allowed to post to Young's accounts — political, policy-related and ideological posts were off-limits — there was no guidance on what to do with the accounts themselves. 'When a member of Congress dies, nobody seems to care about getting the log-ins from you, or assuming control of the Facebook page,' Brown said. 'I still, if I wanted to, could go post to Facebook as Congressman Young — I could still tweet today as Congressman Young. And nobody from archives or records or from House administration, or anybody, seems to give a shit.' Brown continued serving in the Alaskan's office for four months after his death, administering the affairs of the office and helping wind down its operations to prepare for Young's replacement after the special election. While the process of physically closing down Young's office was 'meticulous,' with individual files and knickknacks from the lawmaker's office requiring logging, the 'digital aspect of it was completely ignored,' Brown said. Brown noted that failing to properly administer a lawmaker's social media presence is also a constituent services issue, as many people reach out to their representative's offices via direct message for assistance. But most of all, Brown cautioned, a lack of procedure for how to handle dead lawmaker's' socials poses a host of security risks that would normally be unthinkable for physical record-keeping. 'I can't walk into the National Archives right now and just go behind closed doors and take whatever files from Congressman Young that I want,' Brown said. 'Why does somebody who had social media access have that power to do that with tweets?' Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
P'Nut the Squirrel was executed -- not euthanized, his owner claims in bombshell lawsuit
P'Nut wants payback. The beloved pet squirrel and his raccoon sidekick, Fred, were not euthanized – they were viciously executed by New York authorities, according to a blistering new lawsuit. On Oct. 30, a swarm of cops and agents from the state Environmental Conservation and Health departments descended on Mark Longo's upstate Pine City animal sanctuary. Advertisement The two animals were living peacefully inside Longo's home, but it is illegal to keep squirrels and raccoons as pets in New York, where they're classified as wild animals. 4 P'Nut was slaughtered 'not due to a fear of rabies' – but as a 'senseless act of violence' and 'obscene demonstration of government abuse,' the lawsuit charges. PNut the Squirrel/ Instagram During the raid, DEC officials claimed, P'Nut bit one of its agents through thick leather gloves, which required the state to euthanize and decapitate the animals in order to test their brain tissue for rabies. Advertisement Later, the state admitted the rabies tests were both negative – but it has never apologized nor returned the bodies of either pet. The episode, which occurred just before the presidential election, was decried by outraged animal lovers and conservatives alike as a vicious example of governmental overreach. Longo and his wife, Daniela Bittner, doubled down in a 40-page lawsuit filed Friday in Chemung County Supreme Court. 4 Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela Bittner, doubled down in a 40-page lawsuit filed Friday in Chemung County Supreme Court. LP Media Advertisement P'Nut and Fred were slaughtered 'not due to a fear of rabies' – but as a 'senseless act of violence' and 'obscene demonstration of government abuse,' the documents charge. The suit alleges the bite never happened – and if it did, the agent should have been vaccinated against the disease, and trained in the safe handling of animals. 'The fact that none of these factors came into play demonstrates one of two things – that there was in fact no bite, and this story was fabricated, or, if there was a bite, that it was due strictly to the defendants' own incompetence,' the court filing states. 4 'This is our opportunity to make change and seek justice for P'Nut and Fred,' Longo told The Post. PNut the Squirrel/ Instagram Advertisement Longo and Bittner said their demands for the animals' remains have been ignored, and that their killings exceeded the scope of the search warrant executed that day. The couple has suffered emotional trauma and financial losses since losing their star squirrel, who had become an Internet celebrity, appearing in social media posts, OnlyFans content, Cameos and other monetized media, according to the lawsuit. The suit names defendants spanning every level of local and state government, including state DEC agents Erick Dalecki, Richard McNamara, Matthew Baker, Steven Farrand, John Lifrieri and Joshua Crain — who executed the search warrant — along with 20 unidentified DEC investigators. Also named are Chemung County, its sheriff's office and health department, plus 10 unnamed county officials. The City of Elmira, its police department and Elmira Animal Control are also listed, alongside 10 additional unidentified city agents. 4 The lawsuit names state DEC agent Joshua Crain, who executed the search warrant for Longo's Pine City home on Oct. 30. NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation The suit seeks unspecified damages to be determined by a jury trial. 'This is our opportunity to make change and seek justice for P'Nut and Fred,' Longo told The Post. Advertisement 'I hope justice is done, not just for my clients, but for our civil rights, P'Nut and Fred, and all animals,' said his lawyer, Nora Constance Marino. The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
