OAN Staff James Meyers
2:41 PM – Tuesday, April 22, 2025
A new report has revealed that it took at least 12 New York animal cops in a four-hour “squirrel raid” to find and seize a pet squirrel and raccoon from an amateur sanctuary. The case drew national scrutiny from Vice President JD Vance and tech giant Elon Musk.
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New law enforcement documents, which were shared with Judicial Watch, provided the first details behind the October raid, and it included notes regarding how officials planned to euthanize the wildlife to test for rabies, even before one of the officers claimed that “Peanut,” the squirrel, had bit her.
“New York State bureaucrats did not want to turn over these documents, but Judicial Watch’s lawsuit forced their hand,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The documents show an abuse of power where 12 officers were sent in on a raid to seize Peanut and Fred, who the bureaucrats decided beforehand would be killed. These documents show the killing of Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Racoon was the result of pure government abuse and insanity,” he added.
Named a “squirrel raid” by the Washington-based legal watchdog, the package of 163 pages secured under a Freedom of Information Law lawsuit described an operation of overwhelming force to find Instagram star “Peanut the squirrel” and “Fred the raccoon” after officials received a few anonymous complaints.
Mark Longo, the owner of the social media sensation squirrel, is seeking legal action against those involved after the October 30th seizure of the squirrel from Longo’s home in Pine City.
The suit noted that the state had planned to test for rabies before the raid ever even occurred, since raccoons are “a rabies of vector species.” That required that the animals first be killed, then their heads decapitated. Nevertheless, no rabies were found in the two pets’ tests.
Longo owned Peanut for seven years and the squirrel was featured in several social media posts used to raise money for his “sanctuary.” However, a handful of people complained, and the state intervened.
At the time of the raid by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Longo admitted that he was not licensed to own wildlife, but he also argued that he was applying for a sanctuary license. He initally denied at the time that he had the animals in his home.
Reports indicated that one of the officers who seized Peanut claimed that she was bitten on one of her fingers, but the bite didn’t break through her latex glove.
New York officials have previously acknowledged mishandling the raid at Longo’s residence in Pine City, admitting to operational failures and expressing their intention to “improve” future conduct.
Judicial Watch, who released the documents pertaining to the raid, were the first to provide information on the size of the operation. The officer who organized the raid stated at least 12 law enforcement officials were involved. “3 DEC [Department of Environmental Conservation] investigators, 1 investigator lieutenant, 4 uniform ECOs [Environmental Control Officers], 1 uniform lieutenant, and 3 Bureau of Wildlife staff.”
The case has also caused consideration of new legislation introduced as “Peanut’s Law” which would “require a 72-hour waiting period before animals from animal sanctuaries are euthanized, possibly long enough to observe symptoms of rabies.”
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