Political reporter Thomas Coughlan describes the setting in America this evening.
Video / NZ Herald
A celebrity squirrel has become a rallying cry on the right in the final throes of the US election. Was that on your 2024 bingo card?
The seizure – and euthanasia – of Peanut, whose Instagram account has more than 750,000 followers, at the hands of New York state conservation agents sparked outrage from fans. The incident was quickly embraced by the Trump campaign and Republicans as a symbol of dangerous consequences of government overreach.
“RIP Peanut,” the Trump campaign’s official TikTok account said in a Sunday post that has amassed about nine million views, insisting the squirrel was “needlessly murdered by Democrat bureaucrats in New York”. The post urged voters to send a message to “horrible” state and federal officials by re-electing former US president Donald Trump.
“We will avenge you at the ballot box,” the post said, alongside an illustration of a ghostly squirrel perched over Trump and gazing toward the sky, its paws around the presidential candidate’s shoulders. Trump rests his right hand on the squirrel’s paw as an American flag hangs in the background.
Peanut the squirrel was euthanised by New York state conservation agents, sparking outrage. Image / Instagram
Amid the backlash to Peanut’s demise, bomb threats were reported against the facilities of New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), whose workers were given permission to work from home on Monday and Tuesday, reported the Times-Union, a daily newspaper serving the capital region of New York.
Ten bomb threats were reported by the DEC at office locations across the state, the public information office for the New York State Police told the Washington Post via email, adding that none of the threats were deemed credible and the investigation was ongoing.
The department said in a statement on Friday that on October 30 it “seized a raccoon and squirrel sharing a residence with humans, creating the potential for human exposure to rabies”.
“A person involved with the investigation was bitten by the squirrel,” it said, and both animals were euthanised so they could be tested for rabies.
The statement came after significant media coverage of Peanut, sometimes called P’Nut, who was seized from the Pine City home of Mark and Daniela Longo along with a raccoon named Fred. The agency said it had received complaints that wildlife was being kept illegally and potentially unsafely at the property, the Associated Press reported.
In New York, people can apply for a wildlife rehabilitator licence, which allows them to care for injured or orphaned wild animals if their intention is to release them back into the wild once the animal has recovered. To keep a wild animal, it must be registered as an educational animal, according to information published by the DEC.
Mark Longo said he was working to get Peanut certified as an educational animal so the squirrel could legally remain in his home and that the raccoon would eventually have been released back into the wild, once he had recovered from injuries, according to the AP.
In a tearful video posted to social media last week, the Longos – who say they run an animal sanctuary named “P’Nut’s Freedom Farm” – said the squirrel “was the best thing that ever happened to us”, and confirmed New York officials had “put down” the animal, which they took in as a baby seven years ago after its mother was hit by a car. The sanctuary’s official website says when Peanut was released back into the wild, he was attacked and lost half his tail. It describes him as a “non-releasable squirrel”.
In videos posted to social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok, viewers watched Peanut hiding almonds, eating waffles and wearing hats that fastened tightly under his furry chin. He liked dancing, cuddles and tasty carbohydrates, according to his owners.
As Trump and US Vice-President Kamala Harris headed into their final campaign weekend, Peanut’s fate became a political talking point.
Vice-presidential candidate JD Vance said at a rally in Sanford, North Carolina on Sunday Trump is “fired up” about the squirrel. The House Judiciary GOP posted “Justice for Peanut” on X.
Mark Longo said he was working to get Peanut certified as an educational animal. Image / Instagram
Elon Musk, one of Trump’s biggest donors, also condemned Peanut’s killing. “How can it be that we live in America, supposedly land of the free, and the government can barge into your home with guns – so if you resist, you’re going to get shot – and then take your pets and execute them?” Musk said.
New York governor Kathy Hochul (D) has not publicly addressed the squirrel’s death, but her office said in a statement that she “strongly condemns these outrageous threats of violence and is grateful to the New York State Police for their work to investigate these threats and support the state workforce”, according to the New York Post. Hochul’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment early on Tuesday.
