Chemung County has been at the epicenter of a heated controversy that has made national headlines, after the seizure of two wild animals living in a home in Pine City.
At a press conference Tuesday, Chemung County Executive Christopher Moss presented a timeline of events, and some answers for the public, as to what happened to Instagram-famous P’nut—also known as Peanut—the squirrel and Fred the raccoon.
The two wild animals were seized from the residence of Mark Longo and his wife during a home inspection on Oct. 30, and euthanized the same day, according to a rabies report form obtained by WETM. The squirrel is alleged to have bitten a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation civilian wildlife biologist through their gloves.
Concern about rabies in both animals led to the decision to capture and euthanize the squirrel and raccoon. The viral disease can incubate in both animals and humans through exposure from any open wounds or mucus membrane, and it can be fatal without proper treatment.
The only way to test an animal for rabies is through its brain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“According to the state Department of Health, there's a lot of data on rabies incubation,” said Pete Buzzetti, director of the Chemung County Health Department. “So, the time between an exposure and when you have the disease in humans and in our pets, dogs, cats, ferrets, that same scientific data doesn't exist for wildlife, thus rendering a confinement or isolation not applicable.“
According to the CDC, 90 percent of rabies cases in the U.S. come from wild animals such as raccoons.
In this instance, both animals tested negative for the disease.
The Chemung County Executive Christopher Moss said the county health department was in constant communication with the DEC but was not the lead agency on the investigation.
“The acting commissioner said that he would keep us in the loop,” Moss said. “They've done a great job doing that to this point. So I would ask the public just to be patient, let them conduct their entire investigation, and then we'll see what they have to say at the end of the day. The health department had nothing to do with the search, nothing to do with the search warrant or etc. So I guess that's where we're at.“
In a press release from the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, which represents DEC employees, complaints about the Longo residence and the “illegal” operation of a wildlife sanctuary started at the beginning of the year.
The couple who owned the wild animals also own property that they call P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. The squirrel was a social media star, with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram.
It is illegal in New York to keep a squirrel unless you are a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and will be releasing the animal back into the wild. Longo assured the DEC he had released the squirrel, according to the press release.
A review by the DEC of Longo’s social media accounts showed that the squirrel was still living in the home and that the couple had also taken in a raccoon. This prompted the DEC to search the home with a warrant.
That search led to the chain of events that created a firestorm of national news headlines, as well as death threats to local county employees, according to the Chemung County executive.
There are five licensed wildlife rehabilitators in Chemung County.
As of this reporting, WSKG has been unable to reach the parties involved, including the Longos and state and local officials.
The DEC’s investigation into this matter is still in progress, according to the county executive.