*Gunnar Larson * *xNY.io <http://www.xny.io/> - Bank.org <http://bank.org/>, PBC* MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Search&utm_campaign=MSc-Digital-Currency-North-America&utm_term=blockchain%20unic&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5ctwwMz0MRbVSk-LaYD-GMU5UgDSw7ynxbGr_a7SkaFAZzJc1-pzxEaAi4NEALw_wcB> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovation-mba-1-5-years-or-3-semesters/> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G@xNY.io +1-646-454-9107 New York, New York 10001 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Gothamist <gothamist@lists.wnyc.org> Date: Sat, Aug 16, 2025, 8:01 AM Subject: How one dead squirrel upended NY wildlife enforcement To: <g@xny.io> The ongoing saga of Peanut View this email in a browser. <https://view.lists.wnyc.org/?qs=164853737e60db85167d14ddeaaeab65bf11fde74d4741774897792c1e7cc90bbff320337d2993ac1dc2d7e8d866ff4619ebe46dd69d416a00a95debbb5236c68ae3a605f4e283312a5818c16eed1244> Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? Consider donating and join today. <https://click.lists.wnyc.org/?qs=503ab3f9134df1a19874f20cce362726d8d4e00df49533c713c9271e187a91087fa0ec09c095ab57047a0661f5967d2790a899276a6fa9a86596cfe365085a2c> [image: Mark Longo and P'Nut the Squirrel] <https://click.lists.wnyc.org/?qs=503ab3f9134df1a15d2f0a51c3e4e065865524cd6e3d9c8f12956abc829a7fccb11da6b884b9dcd11c97898722e2a80afbc4c2cdd3239ab2140c86c95256f619> 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. [image: Mark Longo and P'Nut the Squirrel] 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. Listen to the *NYC NOW* episode here <https://click.lists.wnyc.org/?qs=503ab3f9134df1a1606e79bbfa594e42c9e789680844bbe1f909e34117ca1f7a262bce60896421f832ca6b129306052ed92c67020d1ac64c1d826e990b99b5f6>, and read the story <https://click.lists.wnyc.org/?qs=503ab3f9134df1a15b8e35829bd892aad28536208304f8d0462b686b3be02d473cfcc7533912533478a7c1543ee014fee8be354cb9bc218cb3adae035669be87> . 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