The owners of Peanut the squirrel, the famed social media pet who was murdered by New York state authorities, have sued the state for their overreach and the “execution” of Peanut as well as their pet raccoon, Fred.
In the lawsuit, Mark Longo and Daniela Bittner accused New York state authorities of illegally seizing their squirrel and raccoon from their home and then executing them. They are accusing the state officials of violating their constitutional rights, invasion of privacy, illegal seizure, and killing their pets. They are also being accused of fabricating evidence regarding a biting incident that supposedly occurred while agents were seizing their pets — which was the reason given for the execution of Peanut and Fred.
On October 30, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation raided Longo’s animal sanctuary in Pine City to seize Peanut and Fred. They almost immediately “euthanized” both pets because they supposedly needed to conduct rabies testing because of the supposed biting incident. However, both pets tested negative for the disease and some documents indicate that the New York state authorities had already been planning to euthanize Peanut and Fred seven days before they raided Longo’s residence.
Longo and Bittner argued in the lawsuit that the euthanization was illegal and unnecessary because there was no legitimate risk of the pets having rabies — stating that it was just an “excuse” and potentially a “fabrication” designed to coverup the authorities’ actions, which led to intense backlash.
“It is further submitted that even if a risk did in fact exist, which is near impossible and disputed, that allegedly trained DEC agents and/or other respondents’ agents should have known how to physically handle wild or other animals without getting bitten,” the lawsuit argued.
“The killing of Peanut and Fred was not due to fear of rabies, but rather, was a senseless act of violence, perpetrated by government officials in an obscene demonstration of government abuse and an overreach of government power,” Longo and Bittner wrote in a claim filed on Wednesday with their attorney, Nora Constance Marino.
The couple further note that they had never been given the opportunity to present their case or defend their pets in a court of law, arguing that the agents who raided their home had violated the warrant by removing Peanut and Fred without disclosing their plans to execute them.
“Said killing is final and could not be reversed or cured, thus further denying claimants’ right to due process,” the lawsuit stated.
Longo and Bittner went on to accuse the armed agents of intimidating and bullying them during the controversial raid, alleging that agents even went so far as to threaten to investigate Bittner’s immigration status and telling her that “things will get worse.” Bittner was born in Germany but is a legal immigrant.
The couple also asserted that these armed agents had roughed up their defenseless pets during the illegal seizure.
“The respondents seized the two small defenseless animals, Peanut and Fred, and treated the defenseless and terrified animals roughly and without due care,” the lawsuit alleged. “Peanut and Fred were not ‘euthanized,’ which is ‘the act or practice of killing or permitting death in the event of hopelessly sick or injured individuals.’ Peanut and Fred were healthy, young, thriving, happy animals. They were executed, not euthanized.”
#PeanutTheSquirrel's owners have filed to sue the State of New York over their beloved pet's 'execution'. Harvey and Babcock break down the legal battle on #TMZLive pic.twitter.com/TjaYUtGPeL
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 28, 2024
Peanut the squirrel had become a popular social media star, garnering more than 915,000 on the Instagram account that the couple ran in his name. Peanut had been rescued by Longo seven years ago after the then-infant squirrel’s mother had been run over by a car. Longo made Peanut an integral part of his animal refuge, “P’Nuts Freedom Farm,” with proceeds from the squirrel’s stardom going toward helping more animals in need.
