Peanut’s owner sued New York state for the “unlawful” killing of the social media star

The owners of social media website Peanut the squirrel and a pet raccoon named Fred, who were “executed” after being captured by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, are suing the state, claiming their rights were violated .

Squirrel owner Mark Longo offered WETM to Syracuse with a copy of its notice of claim, which must be filed before a lawsuit, seeking damages from the DEC and other local agencies.

The suit states that Mr. Longo and his wife, Daniela Bittner, and their animal sanctuary, P’Nut’s Freedom Farm, are suing to recover damages from the “unlawful and wrongful killing” of Peanut and Fred. Mr. Longo and Ms. Bittner say they suffered a violation of their rights to a fair trial and freedom of speech and movement.

“The nature of the claim herein is state and federal claims involving abuse of process, abuse of power, conspiracy, invasion of privacy, trespass, unlawful and/or improper possession, false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, conversion, withdrawal, theft. of property, theft of animals, illegal taking of plaintiffs’ property, illegal destruction of plaintiffs’ property, illegal taking of plaintiffs’ beloved pets, illegal killing of plaintiffs’ beloved pets,” the filing states.

In October, DEC searched for Mr. Longo’s home in Chemung County after receiving anonymous complaints that Peanut and Fred were being held illegally and potentially unsafe. Search agents took in Peanut and Fred and euthanized them to be tested for rabies after the squirrel allegedly bit one of the DEC agents. Tests later showed that the animals did not have rabies.

In New York it is illegal for people to keep wild animals as pets. However, Mr Longo says he was in the process of getting Peanut certified as an educational animal and planned to release Fred after he was rehabilitated. The couple notes in the filing that they were working on completing their wildlife rehabilitation license at the time of the raid.

Peanut was rescued seven years ago and has become a social media star with an Instagram account that has amassed more than 600,000 followers as he appears in videos doing tricks, eating treats and wearing hats. Mr. Longo’s animal sanctuary is named after the squirrel.

Mr. Longo and Ms. Bittner say the search warrant did not give DEC the authority to euthanize Peanut and Fred and that agents should have kept them “safely, alive” until they obtained a court order to euthanize . . They also dispute the characterization of the animals’ deaths as euthanasia and instead say the pets were “executed.”

The filing suggests the claim that Peanut bit a DEC agent “may be” false or “fabricated” to justify seizing and euthanizing the animals.

Mr. Longo notes in the statement that Peanut’s social media presence has brought awareness to the animal sanctuary and helped attract donations.

“Peanut’s personality and skills were unique. He is irreplaceable. Fred’s personality and abilities were still developing, but it appeared that he too would be unique and irreplaceable, although Longo and Bittner intended to release Fred into the wild,” the filing said.

In addition to questioning the agents’ authority to seize Peanut and Fred, the filing alleges that the agents “unlawfully detained” the couple during the search and prevented them from feeding other animals on the property. The agents allegedly made “intimidating remarks” during the search and questioned Ms. Bittner about her “immigration status.”

The complaint does not specify how much damages Mr. Longo and Ms. Bittner are seeking because they are “unknown at this time and continue to accrue.” However, they predict they will “suffer substantial economic damage and a loss of income in the form of lost donations to the sanctuary and lost revenue based on the loss of peanuts.”

DEC declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Social media erupted after news of Peanut and Fred’s deaths were made public, and the incident became a symbol of government overreach in the final days of the 2024 election.

Supporters of President Trump impart AI-generated footage of the president-elect hugging Peanut and the creature wearing MAGA hats.

DEC is according to reports conducting an “internal investigation” in the search. It also has implemented a new policy requiring officers to get approval from the commissioner and general counsel before conducting a search.