Excessive profile conservatives and Donald Trump-supporters—together with Elon Musk—have galvanized across the demise of an internet-famous squirrel following the New York state authorities’ choice to euthanize the animal, utilizing the incident as an argument for presidency overreach sooner or later earlier than the U.S. Presidential election.
The New York state Division of Environmental Conservation on Wednesday seized and euthanized Peanut the squirrel from the house of content material creator Mark Longo, who lives and operates an animal sanctuary in Pine Metropolis, N.Y. Longo runs a Peanut the squirrel Instagram account with over 695,000 followers, which featured the animal performing methods.
The squirrel’s demise has rallied conservative forces, from Donald Trump to Republicans on the Home Judiciary Committee, to Musk, who’ve lambasted the DEC’s actions. Over the weekend, Musk posted on X a number of occasions concerning the incident, calling the DEC’s intervention a type of “government overreach.”
“The government should not be allowed to barge into your house and kill your pet! That’s messed up,” Musk stated in an X publish Saturday. “Even if it is illegal to have a pet squirrel (which it shouldn’t be), why kill PNut instead of simply releasing him into the forest!?”
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance stated on Sunday at a rally in Sanford, North Carolina that operating mate Trump was “fired up” concerning the squirrel’s demise. Republicans have beforehand tried to invoke sympathy for animals as a rallying cry towards the federal government, spreading the false story that Haitian immigrants in Ohio eat canines and cats.
“The same government that doesn’t care about hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant criminals coming into our country, doesn’t want us to have pets,” Vance stated. “It’s the craziest thing.”
Conservatives coalescing round Peanut comes days earlier than an election with no clear predicted winner and indications that Trump is dropping steam. Polling final week confirmed Trump eking forward of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, however a latest ballot in Iowa now provides Harris the slight edge within the sometimes crimson state. Prediction markets traditionally favoring Trump to win the election have adopted the same change and now favor Harris. Fact Social father or mother Trump Media and Expertise Group, which is taken into account a barometer of his probabilities of reelection, plummeted 41% over three days final week, wiping out $2.4 billion of Trump’s wealth.
The squirrel’s demise has additionally impressed the launch of Peanut-themed cryptocurrencies, together with the Solana-based Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) memecoin, which soared to a market capitalization of greater than $140 million final weekend.
What occurred to Peanut?
The state DEC took Peanut and a raccoon named Fred from Longo’s house Wednesday following complaints that the animals had been being doubtlessly stored unsafely and illegally. The DEC and Chemung County Division of Well being stated in a press release to CBS Information the 2 animals had been seized and euthanized with a view to check for rabies. The squirrel bit one of many people concerned within the investigation, in response to the assertion. The DEC didn’t reply to Fortune’s request for remark.
New York state legal guidelines mandate a license for these eager to personal a wild animal. Longo discovered Peanut seven years in the past after the squirrel’s mom was hit by a automobile.
“Honestly, this still kind of feels surreal, that the state that I live in actually targeted me and took two of the most beloved animals on this planet away, didn’t even quarantine them,” Longo informed the Related Press. “They took them from my house and just killed them.”
The affirmation of Peanut’s demise resulted in an outpouring of help for Longo and his spouse, who in April 2023 based P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary in April 2023. A GoFundMe raised greater than $160,000 to help the sanctuary.
Be part of enterprise’s brightest minds and boldest leaders on the Fortune International Discussion board, convening November 11 and 12 in New York Metropolis. Thought-provoking periods and off-the-record discussions characteristic Fortune 500 CEOs, former Cupboard members and world Ambassadors, and 7x world champion Tom Brady–amongst many others.
See the complete agenda right here, or request your invitation.
