Peanut the Squirrel‘s tragic fate is stirring emotions across the Internet, but at least one town leader in Chemung, NY — where Peanut’s owner lives — isn’t rattled at all, and seems over the whole ordeal.
Chemung Town Supervisor George Richter tells TMZ … he has no knowledge of the squirrel saga exploding on his turf. Remember, Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, claim 2 of their rescue pets — Peanut and Fred the raccoon — were unjustly seized last week, and killed over alleged rabies concerns.
While the story’s gone viral, Richter says he has no plans to advocate on behalf of the late Peanut, nor Mark and Daniela — making it clear he won’t be speaking to Governor Kathy Hochul about the raid.
Nor will he contact the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, or the county health department … the 2 agencies that conducted the raid.
Richter adds, “I’m not calling the governor over a dead squirrel. She wouldn’t do anything anyway.” The statement sounds like a jab, not only at Longo and Peanut, but also Gov. Hochul.
We’ve reached out to her office for a response, but no word back yet.
Remember, Mark and Daniela first confirmed Peanut and Fred were dead during Friday’s “TMZ Live.” They told us agents from the 2 involved agencies showed up at their home last week with a search warrant in hand.
Mark said the officials treated him like a criminal during the search for Peanut, refusing to let him go about his business at his animal rescue … P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary.
TMZ.com
Though Mark and Daniela say they didn’t have the appropriate permit for housing the squirrel in their home, Peanut openly lived with the pair for nearly a decade — and the furry family friend had even become a social media star.
Mark later told TMZ he thought the officials had ulterior motives behind the raid … claiming some took issue with his and Daniela’s OnlyFans account.
Still, NY officials seem to be unfazed by the controversy … as state Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, an animal rights advocate, even stood by the DEC‘s decision.
However, we doubt Mark and Daniela will give up their #JusticeForPeanut campaign.