Episode Details

“The NYS DEC needs a serious reality check on their ridiculously mistaken priorities. Instead of focusing on critical needs like flood mitigation in places like Steuben County, where local officials have to struggle just to get permits from the DEC to clear debris-filled waterways, they’re out seizing pet squirrels. NY taxpayers deserve better.” – Congressman Nick Langworthy 

• Agencies that think they can act w/ impunity towards the people they are supposed to serve.
• Peanut’s Instagram account, run by Longo, currently has over 500k followers. On its profile is a link to P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, an animal refuge named after his little furry friend.
• According to the sanctuary’s official website, Longo met Peanut seven years ago when Peanut was a baby. Having lost “half of his tail in a severe attack,” Peanut was not adept enough to live in the wild, so Longo decided to care for the squirrel at home.
• On Wednesday, Oct. 30, Peanut the Squirrel and Longo’s other pet, a raccoon named Fred, were seized from his home by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
• The DEC also notes that it is illegal to keep young wildlife as pets since they are “not well suited for life in captivity. Plus, they may carry diseases that can be given to people.”
• Peanut and Fred were both euthanized and Longo said the DEC informed the media of the animals’ death before his non-profit, P’nuts Freedom Farm.

• 1/3 of the ‘residents’ in NYC are undocumented and illegal I don’t see DEC doing anything about them.