Euthanasia or execution? Lawsuit says Peanut the squirrel shouldn't be dead.

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6 days ago

Mark Longo fondly remembers waking up in his south-central New York home to the pitter-patter of little feet.
They didn't belong to a cat or dog, but to a squirrel named Peanut who stole the hearts of the Longo family and many others around the world. But officials say local laws meant that Peanut should not have been kept as a pet.
On Oct. 30, 2024, officials with the state's Department of Environmental Conservation raided Longo's home in Pine City and confiscated Peanut and a raccoon named Fred, both of which Longo said he'd rescued and was taking care of. Both animals were euthanized, shocking social media followers who had grown to love them.
Rabies concerns supercharged the conflict, as raccoons can carry the deadly disease in New York and are illegal to keep as pets. To test an animal for rabies, it must first be euthanized, according to the CDC.
The raid captured national attention, with Peanut's death symbolizing an out-of-control local government to some. Longo agrees and in June 2025 filed a lawsuit claiming his rights, and his wife Daniela Bittner's rights, had been violated.
"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."
Meanwhile, a trove of documents about the investigation paints a picture of state authorities facing mounting concerns and complaints about Longo's animals, especially after Fred the raccoon joined the pack, that culminated in the dramatic raid.
Months after Peanut and Fred's fate sparked public backlash, acting DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton released a statement acknowledging the agency could have handled the situation better, and saying it is reviewing all of its wildlife protection and enforcement protocols.
A spokesperson for the DEC, Lori Severino, said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. Representatives for Chemung County and the city of Elmira, also named in the June lawsuit, did not immediately return a request for comment.
What happened to Peanut and Fred
Peanut and Fred were both taken from Longo's home on Oct. 30 after the county's health department and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement at the time they had received reports about "potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets."
According to Longo, nine conservation officers went to his home and spent about five hours "ransacking" it. He added that he and his wife were detained during the search, his wife's immigration status was questioned, and the home was checked for cameras. (Longo's wife Daniela is a German immigrant.)
Officials said Peanut bit one of the investigators involved in the confiscation and both animals taken were later euthanized to test for rabies, prompting outrage from the massive social media following Longo and Peanut had amassed. Rabies tests can only be done on the animals after they are dead.
While raccoons are known vectors for rabies, squirrels rarely get rabies, according to the CDC. A human has never contracted rabies from a squirrel in the United States, the District of Columbia health department has said.
Longo and Peanut's fans, and even then-vice presidential candidate JD Vance, decried the raid and the decision to euthanize the animals.
Peanut lived with Longo for several years after he said he rescued the squirrel as a baby when he witnessed its mother get hit by a car and die. He tried releasing Peanut back into the wild, but the squirrel got injured outdoors, so Longo took him back in. Wildlife rescuers say some squirrels fail at rehabilitation because they imprint on humans and don't develop wild squirrel behaviors.
Longo did not have the required license to work as a squirrel rehabilitator in New York, investigators said in documents released by watchdog group Judicial Watch as part of a public records lawsuit. He later told USA TODAY he had started the process to become licensed but was stymied by complicated regulations that would have allowed him to legally keep Peanut.
Lawsuit alleges 'obscene' government overreach
Longo's lawsuit, filed in Chemung County, New York, names the county, the city of Elmira and several DEC officers as defendants. The 44-page filing, provided to USA TODAY by Longo, did not set forth a monetary amount but said Longo and Bittner were seeking a jury trial for damages and violations to their civil rights.
"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," said Nora Constance Marino, the attorney representing Longo and Bittner.
The suit says the DEC officers acted outside the scope of a warrant that authorized the search of the home and seizure of the animals but not their euthanasia, and in doing so violated the couple's right to due process. It also says the killing of Peanut and Fred also economically harmed Longo and Bittner and their animal sanctuary. They received donations and generated revenue thanks to the social media popularity of the animals.
"Peanut and Fred were executed by the defendants, not euthanized," the suit says.
The filing claims that the agency inflicted intentional emotional distress on Longo and Bittner, made worse by its refusal to return Peanut and Fred's remains to them. But Longo said his aim with the lawsuit is accountability, not revenge.
"I do have a lot of fight. It's fight and grief, and it's hard to grieve when you know you're being challenged on so many levels. But the outcome needs to be a positive one, and I don't want to sit here and be the victim anymore."
Documents reveal steps leading up to raid
Documents, released earlier in 2025, revealed that Peanut was on DEC's radar since at least early 2024.
In the days leading up to the seizure on Oct. 30, however, complaints came in to the department that a raccoon was now being kept and expressed concern about its living conditions. Fred, the raccoon, was located by authorities at the home in a closet in a piece of luggage, the reports show. Peanut was found in a bathroom.
The complaints came from people who said they watched Longo's videos on TikTok and said they thought Longo was using the animals for fame without regard for their welfare.
An officer said in the reports that officers watched Longo's videos on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. One officer also drove by Longo's property in the days leading up to the seizure and photographed it from the street.
"DEC Wildlife staff continued to receive several new citizen complaints regarding captive raccoons during October 2024, which led to the decision for the case to be handled via application of a search warrant to obtain the alleged captive raccoons," the documents say.
The documents paint an unclear picture of authorities' intentions with the raid. One analysis found evidence that euthanasia was the plan all along, not just a response to the reported bite from the squirrel, the Elmira Star-Gazette, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. But the documents also show that officials had done extensive research to find a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for a squirrel.
'I cry almost every day'
Longo said he didn't have to think twice about lying to authorities in an attempt to protect Peanut and Fred. When authorities came to his house on Oct. 30, records show that Longo told them he had no wild animals in the home, and that Peanut had been taken to Connecticut.
Later, he pleaded with the officers not to take them.
"As an animal lover, you love your animal, and you do whatever it takes to protect them," Longo said.
Since that day, Longo said it's been difficult to live in his house, which brings back memories of Peanut and Fred's lives, and the experience of having them seized. He's also changed his opinion of law enforcement, whom he used to trust.
"They destroyed my family," he said. "I cry almost every day knowing that that portion of my life and that chapter is closed."
In April, Longo traveled to the state capital in Albany to advocate for Peanut's Law, a measure backed by lawmakers and animal welfare advocates that would establish a waiting period before animals seized from sanctuaries are euthanized and require a hearing and other due process standards, unless there's proof the animal poses a safety threat.
"I want to make sure that these two animals didn't die in vain, and that the world understands that things need to be changed and improved," he said.
Longo has also been focused on the hundreds of animals he keeps on his over 300-acre property, home to P'Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. Rescues there include horses, goats, pigs, donkeys, alpacas, sheep and more.
"I have to continue to keep the legacy of Peanut and Fred alive by going out and doing our part to help more and more animals," Longo said.
Contributing: Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette; Greta Cross USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Government wrongly killed Peanut the squirrel, lawsuit says