EXCLUSIVE: Peanut the Squirrel & Fred the Racoon: PETA, Humane Long Island Weigh In On Tragic, Unnecessary Deaths – UPDATED
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EXCLUSIVE: Peanut the Squirrel & Fred the Racoon: PETA, Humane Long Island Weigh In On Tragic, Unnecessary Deaths

Peanut the Squirrel. Image Credit – @peanut_the_squirrel12
Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon were confiscated from their amateur, unlicensed rescuer and euthanized by the State of New York recently.
This story was first broken by TMZ, who interviewed the squirrel and raccoon’s former rescuers turned fur-parents. Peanut the Squirrel was found as a near-newborn baby, and they hand-fed and raised him from infancy. However, they then began an Instagram channel devoted to Peanut the Squirrel, where he would do cute things such a eating a giant waffle that was nearly as large as he was, and running around on the apparent jungle gym type of setup they had in their home. However, eventually, one of their neighbors, concerned about the raccoon carrying rabies, reported them to the State’s DEC. Multiple departments were involved in the raid, search, and seizure that occurred on the property and took over five hours. After all the mayhem, Peanut the Squirrel bit one of the licensed wildlife rehabilitators who then had the animal euthanized. New York DEC has begun an internal investigation into the incident, including whether it was excessive use of force, and why the animals were euthanized.
New information has emerged, from TMZ and the New York Post, that state officials had ordered the animals to be euthanized seven days before the raid in a bombshell revelation. This contradicts the story told by the DEC to media that the squirrel was killed due to a bite. The death had actually been ordered in advance, and was carried out on the orders of the state given prior to the raid.
John DiLeonardo, who we have interviewed in the past about turkeys on Staten Island and about ducks and rabbits being sold on Easter, is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, an anthrozoologist, and the executive director of Humane Long Island. They have been rescuing animals, including squirrels and raccoons, and releasing them back to the wild when they have recovered (if applicable), for many years. There is also a lawsuit against the state brought by the former companions of the now-deceased animals.
Below is a statement from PETA regarding the Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon incident involving the euthanization of both animals:
In a perfect world, Peanut and Fred would have been brought to a licensed rehabber and released back into their natural habitat. But PETA laments that, after being part of a family since infancy, Peanut and Fred’s lives were taken from them. There is always a humane solution, and it’s a pity that New York officials didn’t find one here.
Following is a statement from John DiLeonardo, President and Executive Director, Humane Long Island. Please find the statement from him below, followed by answers to questions asked by Staten Islander News.
“Wild animals belong in the wild, not in our homes,” says John Di Leonardo, anthrozoologist & executive director of Humane Long Island. “The only people responsible for the deaths of Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon are those who abducted them from their homes and endangered their lives for clout and financial gain. The public can help prevent this tragedy from repeating itself by always working with reputable, licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers and speaking out against those exploiting wild animals on social media.”
1- If a person finds an abandoned baby squirrel or other newborn mammal that is clearly newborn (no fur, closed eyes), and they wait two hours and the parent doesn’t return, what is the correct procedure they should follow to help the animal? This would be more relevant to rural areas upstate, rather than in the city, where wildlife sanctuaries are harder to find and farther away. You can find instructions online for what to feed them (such as Kaytee baby bird formula, Mazuri formula, or baby food with high protein), so what should a concerned person do to best help the animal legally?
If a person finds an animal in distress or who appears to have been orphaned, the best course of action is to observe from a distance and contact a licensed wildlife facility or wildlife rehabilitator with pictures and videos, following their advice on what to do next. There is no one size fits all answer for rescue, and each case must be evaluated independently by an experienced, licensed rehabilitator. The DEC keeps a list of licensed wildlife rehabilitators at this link.
The public should never remove a baby bunny from their nest without the direction of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as they are very susceptible to dying from shock or capture myopathy. Similarly, the public should never try to put food or water into the mouth of a wild animal, many of whom have vastly different biologies from humans, as they can easily aspirate. We get calls every year from well-meaning people who abducted fledglings from their mother or killed baby animals out of ignorance rather than malice.
1a- Would reducing regulations surrounding rescuing one animal make sense? Would it have the effect of helping more animals that would otherwise not have survived since people would walk away rather than experience what Peanut’s family did? Examples of people adopting animals in distress who would otherwise have died (and which would have been illegal in New York) can be found on the YouTube channels the Dodo and Wild Animal 247, and include a kangaroo, a duck, a raccoon, a donkey, etc).
We need stronger laws protecting animals, not weaker ones. The standards for acquiring a Class I state wildlife rehabilitation license are already embarrassingly low — requiring a score of 80 or greater on an open book, online test with practice tests available on the DEC website. The DEC does not perform any routine or pre-licensing inspections and requires no proof of working with a veterinarian. They also do not regulate many non-native, but clearly wild animals, such as sloths, kangaroos, capybaras, and prairie dogs.
Humane Long Island is currently working with Senator Monica Martinez and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal to close this loophole, however, the bill is in desperate need of support in the assembly, passing the Senate the past two years but stalling in the Assembly Environmental Committee. Bill banning sale of exotic animals introduced in NY after petting zoo sold kangaroos, sloths on Long Island – ABC7 New York.
Over the past year, Humane Long Island has rescued a wallaby from the Coney Island boardwalk, a rhea, aka South American Ostrich, amongst 100 farmed and exotic animals in a Bellmore man’s basement, and dozens of exotic birds and a prairie dog from a veterinarian who was hoarding sick and suffering animals in Woodbury. Each one of these suspects pretended they were providing sanctuary to these animals while contributing to their captivity and suffering.
Social media and tabloid websites often promote irresponsible and sometimes illegal ownership of wild and exotic animals for clout and clicks to generate money for both the platform and the animal exhibitor. Case in point: Mark and Daniela Longo did not “rescue” Peanut or Fred. Wild Bird Fund and more than 100 licensed wildlife rehabilitators serve New York City where Mark says he found Peanut, but instead of getting Peanut help, they abducted him from the wild, imprinted him on themselves, and exploited him for clout and clicks to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars on TikTok and Instagram, and then made nearly $1 million dollars more monthly by diverting this traffic to Mark’s adult-subscription site where he masturbated under the name “Squirrel Daddy”. The DEC apparently warned the Longos to stop posting Peanut, at which point the Longos apparently began posting Fred, a Rabies Vector Species.
2- To what animals does the New York law about certified wildlife rehabilitators apply? Is it every bird and mammal, or are there exceptions (such as sparrows, starlings, certain small rodents that are native)?
There are several types of licenses and permits. Class I licenses are the starting license and allow the rehabilitation of small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and unregulated bird species and “game birds” like turkeys, pheasants, and grouses. Class II licenses authorize rehabilitators to have assistants. Rabies Vector Species (RVS) licenses allow the handling and care of bats, raccoons, and skunks.
A federal Migratory Bird Rehabilitation Permit from U.S. Fish & Wildlife is needed for rehabbing many other birds, including waterfowl, raptors, and many seabirds and songbirds, while a federal Marine Mammal Permit from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is needed for rehabilitating marine mammals, including dolphins and seals. Additional licenses are needed for rehabilitating large mammals, including white-tailed deers, black bears, and mooses.
Additional permits and exhibition licenses are needed from both state and federal authorities to keep animals longterm and to exhibit them to the public. Wild animals are not pets, and the goal of wildlife rehabilitation should always be to ultimately release wild animals back to the wild.
There aren’t any native species who are exempt from these laws aside from fishes.
2a- What is the purpose of this law? Does it help to protect wildlife or is it a hindrance to those who want to help an animal they’ve found in distress?
Wildlife rehabilitation regulations exist to protect animals as well as the public, preventing the public from kidnapping wildlife and ensuring inexperienced and unlicensed people do not torture wild animals by keeping them captive and do not spread disease amongst humans and wild populations.
The DEC’s Good Samaritan policy allows finders 24 hours to bring an injured or orphaned animal to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in New York State if they themselves are not licensed. Again, no one should be removing wildlife from the wild without the guidance of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and 24 hours is more than enough time to bring a sick or orphaned animal to said wildlife rehabilitator no matter where a finder is in the state.
3- There appears to be a human test for rabies now (which obviously does not require euthanization). Is there a similar test available for animals, or is this planned for the future?
There is no live animal test for rabies. The only test for rabies in animals that may be used to guide human rabies risk analysis is the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) test, which requires killing the animal and examining their brain.
3a- If there is no animal test that doesn’t require killing the animal, are there other ways to determine infection, such as an observation period to watch for symptoms of rabies?
Contrary to what has been widely reported, the DEC did not order Peanut and Fred to be killed. This was ordered by the County Department of Health after Mark Longo admitted to being bitten multiple times and a DEC officer was apparently bitten during their investigation. Rabies is almost always fatal in humans once symptoms appear, with a 99.9% mortality rate — the highest of any disease on Earth, so Health Departments — whose priority is always human safety — will always order animals to be killed in these circumstances, especially when the animal doing the biting was allowed free contact with a vector species like a raccoon.
4- Are you familiar with Peanuts law, which was introduced in response to this situation? Would this law be helpful in getting more animals rescued and given the care they need?
Peanut’s Law is problematic for several reasons, which all come back to the same point: Animal exploiters like Mark and Daniela Longo are not victims. (Fred and Peanut are) They also do not run sanctuaries.
New York State already has a definition for “wildlife sanctuary” that in some ways is stricter than the proposed definition, requiring that animals are not exhibited without a license and are not allowed to breed or trade the skins or products of the animals.
Current laws and enforcement regulating charities are so weak that providing a broader definition of what constitutes a “sanctuary” would enable any would-be animal exploiter to send in a check and become qualified almost immediately. We are already seeing animal exploiters following this model with Sloth Encounters calling itself a sanctuary and with the Long Island Game Farm filing for an associated charity shortly before the death of 3-year-old giraffe Bobo from starvation marrow at their facility. Game Farm gala disrupted by humane demonstration | The Long Island Advance
Peanut’s Law’s 72-hour prohibition on euthanizing animals, along with its “imminent risk” criteria also prioritizes the “right” of the “owner” over the welfare of the animal, providing no exception for animals who may be suffering without hope when they are rescued by authorities.
If New York wants to make exceptions for any type of sanctuary, I would suggest they consider substantially raising the criteria needed to qualify, such as being accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS).
5- Are there particular animals, such as raccoons, which are more likely to be hazardous (or illegal) to rescue than other animals (turkeys or squirrels, for example, who are less likely to carry rabies)?
Rabies can only affect mammals, so no bird species can contract or spread the disease. Squirrels very rarely contract rabies, but when they are kept in close confines with a rabies vector species, departments of health are forced to consider them at a similar level of risk.
That being said, no one should assume a raccoon or any other animal has rabies simply because they are out during the day. (After all, I am not nocturnal yet I am writing this at night!) Raccoons are excellent mothers, and can often be found foraging for their babies day and night during the Spring. Even when a raccoon is behaving strangely, it is much more likely that they are suffering from canine or feline distemper than rabies. Distemper is not contagious to humans, but it is highly contagious and raccoons can get both the feline and canine varieties, so it’s important to always keep cats indoors and dogs up to date on their shots!
Rabies is rare even amongst raccoons, so the public should not have an unhealthy fear of these animals. Keeping a distance and letting wild animals be wild unless advised by a licensed rehabilitator to the contrary is always best no matter the species.
6- Would you recommend that the laws in New York be reviewed and updated for the modern era, and if so, what would be your recommendations for updating?
There are vast improvements that should be made for the modern era, including stronger penalties for abusing or otherwise exploiting animals across the board. (Never in my more than a decade of working with authorities on these issues have I worked on a case where a suspect got even a day in jail for abusing or otherwise exploiting animals, and in most cases the maximum fine was only a couple hundred dollars with the exploiter back in business the same day.)
The DEC did not err in raiding the Longos’ home, however, the agency lost its goodwill with the public long ago for prioritizing hunters, trappers, and fishers over conservationists, wildlife rehabilitators, and the general public. For example, while the agency claims the fees from hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses goes toward conservation, in actuality it goes toward the New York State Conservation Fund, which is used for non-conservation purposes like its cruel artificial pheasant propagation program in which more than half of the factory farm-raised, non-native pheasants abandoned to public hunting lands die from predation and starvation before ever being hunted, and less than 5% survive the winter. This program should be shut down, and its funds should be redirected to create an annual grant program for reputable wildlife rehabilitation hospitals like Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, Wildlife Centers of LI, and the Wild Bird Fund.
Given the embarrassingly low requirements for a Class I license in New York as discussed in 1a, we need a much higher bar of entry into wildlife rehabilitation in New York State that includes taking the test offline, closing the book, requiring a veterinarian to attest that they will work with the licensee, and pre-licensing and surprise inspections. Animals would also benefit from setting a stronger standard for who can call themselves sanctuaries in New York State.
The DEC also needs to crack down harder on more rogue rehabbers like the Longos, not less. This “rogue rehabber” in Merrick is continuing to take in animals by tying up the DEC in litigation despite being issued an “intent to revoke” letter from the authority, showing how little authority they exert in actuality compared to the “government overreach” narrative that has been lobbied against them. ‘Rogue Rehabber’ In Merrick Cited For Roaming And Dead Raccoons: DEC | Merrick, NY Patch
Finally, the DEC should be more proactive in providing training, supports, and grant funding to wildlife rehabilitators trying to do the right thing. This especially pertains to those interested in rehabilitating RVS species, who are currently prohibited from being rehabbed in NYC due to public health law and are non-existent in Nassau due to a lack of supports.
7- You mentioned that bunnies shouldn’t be removed from their nest as they can suffer shock or capture myopathy. Is this specific to rabbits, or does it apply to all baby animals or just mammals?
All animals can suffer capture myopathy, but baby bunnies are the most susceptible species on Long Island. Deer are next on the list. They actually even suffer it when hunted for prolonged periods of time.
8- Are there raccoons and skunks in Nassau? We have many raccoons and skunks in Staten Island, though bat populations have been decimated by broad spectrum insecticide spraying.
There are raccoons, skunks, and bats in Nassau, though folks rarely see them as they’re nocturnal and reclusive. There aren’t any licensed RVS rehabbers in Nassau anymore as there aren’t any licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers in Nassau and the requirements for RVS really require a facility. Opening a wildlife center in Nassau would be very difficult given local laws and would require a ton of money. This is something the DEC could provide in the form of grants by freeing up funds by ending cruel, non-conservation programs like factory farming and abandoning pheasants for exotic hunting.
9- considering the lack of inspections and the ease of application to become a rehabber, how can a consumer know that the rescue place they’re bringing a rescued animal to won’t end up in a circus or neglected?
Since the licensing restrictions are so low for a general license, I suggest the public bring animals to nonprofit, brick-and-mortar wildlife hospitals with experienced and licensed staff whenever possible. In New York City, they may bring to Wild Bird Fund; on Long Island, they may bring to Wildlife Center of LI, STAR Foundation, or Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center; in Westchester, they may bring to Animal Nation. Etc.

Peanut the squirrel with Mark Longo. Image Credit – @peanut_the_squirrel12
Banner Image: Peanut the Squirrel. Image Credit – @peanut_the_squirrel12
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