Peanut, who has amassed more than half a million Instagram followers, was euthanized by officials to be tested for rabies.
Peanut, the Instagram-famous squirrel that was seized from its owner’s home Wednesday, has been euthanized by New York state officials.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation took Peanut, as well as a raccoon named Fred, on Wednesday after the agency learned the animals were “sharing a residence with humans, creating the potential for human exposure to rabies," it said in a joint statement with the Chemung County Department of Health.
Both Peanut and Fred were euthanized to test for rabies, the statement said. It was unclear when the animals were euthanized.
to test for rabies, couldnt they have just observed the animal in some quarantine for the gestation period of the disease?
They could have, but if the animal had already bitten a human, that extra few weeks’ wait is dangerous.
These keyboard warriors don’t understand how fucked up rabies can get. Near 100% fatal once the infected becomes symptomatic, and it’s probably one of the worst disease-related deaths I can imagine. I’d rather take a cyanide pill.
I live near a forest where the fox population had to be culled because of the potential contact between humans or their pets and infected animals. There were billboards and television announcements that warned against approaching a wild animal that is acting friendly because it’s an indicator of infection.
There is a prophylactic for rabies. The squirrel had to be destroyed because it bit a human whose job it was to work with animals suspected of having rabies. These people are already trading human well-being for the sake of the price of a slightly expensive shot. It’s theater to suddenly pretend to give a shit about rabies after you’ve had one of your employees get bit.
These animals lived with their owner for years and were consistently photographed for Instagram. Yeah, people know how bad rabies is. They clearly didn’t have it.
And officials are saying that no wildlife rehab service in the entire state of New York could take these two in? Internet famous, celebrity animals? Man, whoever believes that, I’ve got some land to sell ya.
Just have to chime in and say 100% fatal once symptomatic. I really hope someone corrects me but I’m pretty sure there has never been a confirmed case with a recovery; we have a treatment that works, but has to be given relatively soon after exposure.
Edit: lol, was the downvote for me hoping I was wrong, or being wrong?
got it, this was pure animal control spite. they only claimed a bite after they seized the animal ‘for testing’. their timeline is bullshit.
at least some good came of it
Longo and his wife moved to Upstate New York last year to start P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, which is named for his pet and officially opened in April 2023
Anyone bitten by a wild an animal should be treated for rabies. To wait for the animal to be tested, quickly or slowly, is just foolish. This animal could have been quarantined and observed without any danger to the bite victim.
edit: the animal needn’t be wild, just as this one was not.
the prophylactic really fucking sucks to take AFAIK, you want to avoid it just a little bit less than rabies.
No, rabies is an absolutely bizarre virus. The progression of the disease is highly variable. The person peanut bit could star displaying symptoms before peanut. Once symptoms show up, you are essentially dead. Rabies has one of the highest death rates of know human diseases. The only definitive way to test for rabies is testing brain tissue. The amount needed for a high confidence result is too much for the animal to survive. So the animal is always euthanized. That why having all pets that can be vaccinated, vaccinated is so important.
