P’Nut did not have rabies.
The Instagram-famous squirrel, who was confiscated from his owner and became a symbol of government overreach in the lead-up to the election after he was euthanized, tested negative for the disease. Public officials in Chemung County, in New York’s Southern Tier, made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday.
P’Nut, a gray squirrel who also went by Peanut, was seized on Oct. 30 from his home in Pine City, following complaints about wildlife being kept without the necessary permits. (A raccoon named Fred was also taken.) During the apprehension, officials said, the squirrel bit a wildlife biologist through two pairs of gloves, necessitating the testing, which can only be done post-mortem.
The animals, considered pets by their owners, Mark and Daniela Longo, were euthanized the same day. After the Longos condemned the seizure on social media as a sign of state intrusion, P’Nut became a rallying cry for some on the right. Elon Musk elevated P’Nut as meme fuel on X and JD Vance gave a benediction for the squirrel at a stump speech in North Carolina.
At the news conference, the county executive, Chris Moss, presented certificates showing both animals’ negative test results and defended the decision to euthanize them. He also provided a timeline of the events leading up to the decision, which noted that County Health Department officials and animal control agents had discussed testing that would have required the animals’ euthanasia as early as Oct. 22, more than a week before the raid on the Longo’s home.
Mr. Moss said that in presenting the full facts, he hoped to tamp down what he said were a slew of violent threats against employees of the various agencies involved, including the State Department of Environmental Conservation and the county’s health and animal control agencies.
“I realize people want to vent,” Mr. Moss said. “But at the end of the day, I think you have to realize the seriousness of humans contracting rabies.”
In a statement last week, the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, the union that represents employees of some of the agencies involved, released its own timeline of events in an effort to combat what it said was misinformation that had lead to bomb threats against its members. According to the State Police, there were more than 10 bomb threats against D.E.C. facilities immediately after P’Nut’s death.
For Mr. Longo, the revelation that officials had discussed rabies testing before P’Nut bit anyone was devastating.
“It’s an utter disgrace, you’re pointing fingers at whose fault this is when all of you were involved,” Mr. Longo said in an interview. “There are not words for this tragedy,” he added.
The investigation into P’Nut and Fred began in January, according to the union, after licensed wildlife rehabilitators called in concerns that the Longos’ animals were being kept illegally. The Longos had cared for P’Nut ever since the animal’s mother was run over by a car seven years ago. Mr. Longo has said that he and his wife were in the process of getting their licenses to rehabilitate wildlife. (The D.E.C. did not immediately respond to a request to verify the Longos’ claim.)
In its statement, the union said that agents had warned Mr. Longo early this year that he could not keep a wild animal, and he told them he had released the squirrel into the wild. In its statement, the union said Mr. Longo had “lied” about releasing P’Nut.
In an interview, Mr. Longo said he never told investigators that he had released the squirrel. After an abortive attempt to reintroduce P’Nut into the wild years ago, which led to the animal losing part of his tail, Mr. Longo said he had no plans to set the animal free.
“Why would I let my 7-year-old squirrel, the world’s most famous squirrel, outside?” he said. “Yeah, right, I am going to put my 7-year-old best friend outside. He would survive for an hour.”
The social media posts about P’Nut and Fred were what led a judge to order a search warrant for the Longos’ Pine City property, according to the union. The couple also keeps rescue alpacas, horses and other animals at the property, which is known as P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary.
Testing for rabies cannot be done on a living animal, and must be performed by sampling brain matter, according to wildlife officials. At the news conference on Tuesday, Peter Buzzetti III, the public health director of the Chemung County Health Department, defended the speed with which the animals had been euthanized — the same day they were confiscated, according to the official timeline. While there may be a waiting period for dogs and cats that are suspected of having rabies, “it doesn’t apply to animals considered wildlife,” Mr. Buzzetti said.
Though Mr. Longo does not follow politics, and said he had never voted, including for President-elect Donald J. Trump, he welcomed the support, however partisan, he said.
“This is a tragedy and obviously I am disgusted with the outcome, but it doesn’t change my politics,” said Mr. Longo, who added that he planned to take legal action against the entities responsible. “We want to make sure that justice for Fred and P’Nut happens.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Musk, who in the days after P’Nut’s death posted memes of him returning as a Jedi, more powerful in death than in life, shared a cryptic post on X about a squirrel coming to the aid of humanity.
“The prophecy has been fulfilled,” Mr. Musk wrote.
The post Did P’Nut Die for Nothing? Test Shows Squirrel Did Not Have Rabies. appeared first on New York Times.
