How did a cowboy-hat-wearing squirrel upend the enforcement of New York's wildlife and environmental laws?
It all starts with a man named Mark Longo, who said he came across a baby squirrel on a street in Midtown about seven years ago.
Longo decided to bring the orphan home. He named him Peanut.
Fast forward to Oct. 30, 2024 — days before the presidential election — when a dozen New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officers, investigators and staffers showed up at Longo's home: a 311-acre animal sanctuary upstate where Longo, who'd also gained a following as an OnlyFans performer, was keeping more than 300 critters, including horses, ducks, goats, dogs, a raccoon and Peanut, who was now a social media star.
The agents had a warrant to search the property for the raccoon and Peanut, both of which were considered wildlife and illegal to keep as pets.
What happened next likely rings a bell: Peanut was euthanized and tested for rabies (negative), and became an overnight don't-tread-on-me folk hero. Elon Musk and JD Vance decried the raid as an example of government overreach, and threats — both from Trump supporters and fervent animal rights activists — starting pouring in at the DEC.
But the saga didn't go away after the election.
WNYC & Gothamist reporter Jon Campbell's review of hundreds of documents and voicemails obtained through an open-records request, along with interviews, reveals how the backlash to the squirrel’s killing continues to hobble New York's enforcement of hunting and animal safety laws.