My colleague Bob Hoge wrote earlier about a case of government overreach that just seems astonishing, the story of Peanut the Squirrel.
Mark Longo had a pet squirrel he had saved after the squirrel’s mother was killed by a car seven years ago. Peanut, also affectionally known as “P’Nut,” became an Instagram star with its interactions with Longo.
Then the NY Department of Environmental Conservation reportedly came into Longo’s home and removed Peanut and Fred the Raccoon, another pet. They claimed that Peanut bit one of the investigators, so they euthanized both pets to test for rabies, they claimed.
If a pet has been in someone’s home for seven years and is an indoor pet, the chance of rabies seems pretty darn near impossible. And if what Longo is saying is true, the heavy hand here was ridiculous for pets that weren’t causing any problems.
The post continued:
“Peanut” was the mascot for his animal non-profit and had a social media following of over a million people. When the government shows you and tells you who they are—believe them.
READ MORE: Government Overreach Run Amok: NY State Kills Peanut the Squirrel
There are many issues in New York, from crime to illegal aliens, and law enforcement has to spend these kind of resources to go after a pet squirrel and raccoon? It’s bizarre:
In a joint statement, the DEC and the Chemung County Department of Health say they are “coordinating to ensure the protection of public health related to the illegal possession of wild animals that have the potential to carry the rabies virus.”
They also said it was “illegal” to keep young wildlife.
The Internet immediately erupted because if there’s one thing that brings people together, it’s pets; if there’s another it would be government overreach. So you had a perfect storm of both, when it came to what happened to Peanut and Fred.
Many weighed in on Peanut’s behalf and the greater question of overreach.
This was retweeted by the Trump War Room account.
Now, there was a statement that some claimed was from Trump. It was a pretty good spoof.
Trump has out out a savage statement about Peanut the Squirrel
Honestly can’t believe NY Dems stole this man’s squirrel and killed him pic.twitter.com/Xez2JYmjks— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) November 2, 2024
But the campaign said it was a fake.
Still, it was one more thing to add onto a bad week for Democrats.
NY is proving to be a state that has a government way out of control. To do that to two house pets was not only cruel, but hateful. I have never been to NY and I do not ever plan on going to or supporting NY in any way.
More on my last comment. NY lets the criminals go free, no matter what crime they have committed, but they will go after two defenseless animals in a home for over 7 years and kill them for the stupid reason of testing for rabies. Animals in a home ‘Do Not Get Rabies”. NY government has gotten out of control and needs to be SHUT DOWN. No good reason at all to do what they did. Maybe they are the ones that need to be tested for rabies. They are liking they might have rabies.