22: Peanut the Squirrel
Peanut’s Story is Proof of How One Tiny Life Can Impact Thousands of Hearts
Born: c.2017, Possibly New York City, New York, United States of America
Died: c.30 October 2024, New York State, United States of America
Also Known As: P’Nut
Peanut was an Eastern Grey Squirrel, who had been injured as a baby and was living with humans Mark Longo and Danielle Bittner, who had rescued Peanut and a raccoon named Fred and rehabilitated them in their home. Peanut’s mother had been hit by a car when he was tiny, and so Mark rescued Peanut and raised him to adulthood, bottle feeding him for eight months. Once he reached adulthood, Mark tried to release him back into the wild, but the effort failed and so Mark decided to keep Peanut as a pet.
Mark planned on releasing Fred back into the wild once he was rehabilitated.
Mark also made social media posts featuring Peanut and Fred, as a way to help raise money for his sanctuary. He already had made quite the following for himself, but after the death of Peanut and Fred, Mark’s social media following jumped considerably as more and more attention turned to this developing story.
Mark is not some random guy that just happened to keep a squirrel in his house, by the way. He owns a three-hundred-acre property called “P’Nut’s Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary”, and he houses several hundred animals of all different species on the property.
On 30 October 2024, the state of New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (or DEC) raided Mark’s home, seized both Peanut and Fred, and then euthanized them. During the raid, which lasted over five hours, nine agents ransacked the house (though Wikipedia claims there were actually twelve agents present), detained Mark and his wife, and they questioned his wife’s immigration status (she is a legal immigrant from Germany). The agents claim that Peanut bit one of them during the raid.
According to Big Brother, I mean, the government, the raid occurred after several complaints were filed. Evidently, a few random people decided Fred might be carrying rabies (even though they had no proof of this whatsoever), and so the state came in, seized both animals, and killed them. The reason why both animals were euthanized so quickly is because there is no way to test for rabies in an animal while it is still alive, because brain tissue has to be examined to find signs of rabies. The tests came back, unsurprisingly, negative.
It is also illegal to keep a raccoon as a pet in New York State. While you can keep squirrels in the state of New York, you can only legally do so after jumping through bureaucratic hoops to become a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Mark attempted to complete this process but never managed to actually obtain the license, but he did try.
Also important to note, there are NO known cases of a human contracting rabies from a squirrel anywhere in the US.
In the wake of their sudden deaths, the DEC also refused to allow Mark to have the remains of his beloved pets Peanut and Fred. News of the detainment and death of the animals hit the internet immediately, and as someone living in the United States at the time, I can personally attest to the fact that it seemed to cement a lot of voters’ opinions on government overreach only days before the United States’ Presidential Election, where Donald Trump beat out Kamala Harris in both the popular vote and the electoral college.
Memes exploded across the internet showcasing Peanut and Fred. Even then-Vice-Presidential Candidate JD Vance denounced their deaths as horrendous overstepping by the state of New York. Joe Rogan, Donald Trump Jr, and Elon Musk also commented on the case. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch mentioned Peanut in a speech on the dangers of government overreach. The DEC even received bomb threats in the wake of the news. Saturday Night Live even got in on the public frenzy, airing a skit in November 2024 supposedly featuring Peanut’s widow (portrayed by a human actor).
A few months after the raid, the DEC commissioner released a statement that admitted they, “know that we can do better moving forward.” Efforts have also been made to force agents from agencies like the DEC to wear body cameras.
In April 2025, Mark and other lawmakers advocated for Peanut’s Law to be passed in New York State, which would require the government to hold animals for a set period of time after they are seized, to giver the owner’s time to try and rescue them by proving the animals are not actually dangerous.
In June 2025, Mark filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming government overreach and a violation of his rights. The suit is requesting $10 Million in damages. According to USA Today (article linked below):
“The suit says the DEC officers acted outside the scope of a warrant that authorized the search of the home and seizure of the animals but not their euthanasia, and in doing so violated the couple's right to due process. It also says the killing of Peanut and Fred also economically harmed Longo and Bittner and their animal sanctuary. They received donations and generated revenue thanks to the social media popularity of the animals.”
The suit also claims that Peanut and Fred were executed, not euthanized. I personally agree with that statement.
As of August 2025, no trial date or further action about the lawsuit has been made public.
Also, in the spirit of total honesty, I want to include the fact that apparently Mark either was, or possibly still is, running an OnlyFans account that was making him thousands of dollars a month, and marketing himself as “Peanut’s Dad” on the platform. That’s…kind of gross, but doesn’t really have anything to do with Peanut and Fred being murdered for no reason.
Sources:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/07/11/peanut-the-squirrel-lawsuit/83475019007