11/04/2024
We have been receiving a lot of emails and tags about A Squirrel Named Peanut. Some articles have been drawing parallels between what happened with Nibi and what just happened with Peanut.
I want to share my personal thoughts and opinions on the situation, as many have asked.
First and foremost, when I found out Peanut was euthanized, my heart was broken for his family. That squirrel did not deserve what happened to him. The enforcement team that was sent in to collect wild animals should have been wearing proper protective equipment - especially if they had concerns about rabies.
This squirrel had not been out in the wild in seven years and squirrels aren’t a rabies vector species so the chances of it having rabies were extremely slim. Anyone who works for the state handling wildlife should already be vaccinated for rabies as well. It doesn’t look good when you are taking a squirrel from this man because he isn’t licensed to care for it and then you don’t handle it correctly and get bit - causing the forced euthanizing of this animal. It doesn’t make the DEC look like the “experts” in this situation.
If you consider that, since rabies surveillance began in 1992, New York has NEVER identified a squirrel with rabies - this seems especially unnecessary.
That being said, when you add the raccoon into the situation, things get a little more complicated. I believe, the raccoon is what really pushed the state to get involved and made it more of a public health risk.
Raccoons are a rabies vector species and, if the raccoons and squirrel were interacting with each other, that could raise chances of a transmission. Though, raccoons eat squirrels so I am doubtful these two were playing together. I don’t know the particulars, just speculating here.
There are a lot of conclusions that could be drawn from what happened with Nibi. My biggest concern in what happened with her was the take away. Everyone can have a different take away from a situation. I feared some people would decide that they want their very own baby beaver as a pet. I was honestly terrified that I may be responsible for some people making the decision to keep wild animals as pets. It’s a hard balance to show people how amazing these animals are and how they deserve our respect and consideration without making people want to possess them.
The idea of taking healthy wild animals and keeping them confined for their whole lives makes me so sad. These animals deserve to be free. Every year we receive wild animals people tried to raise on their own and frequently these animals have health issues because of incorrect diets. Sometimes they are morbidly obese from not being able to run and climb as much as they would out in the wild.
Permanent placement for these animals really should be a last resort, when all other options have been exhausted. Licensed wildlife rehabilitators really should be called when you find orphaned or injured wildlife.
Raccoons frequently carry a roundworm that is different from the ones dogs and cats carry. It’s called Baylisascaris procyonis and it can be deadly to other wildlife, pets and humans. Though raccoons live with the worm just fine, because they are the preferred host, if the worm gets in another animal or a human, they can cause severe brain damage and even death. The eggs of this worm are microscopic and bleach doesn’t kill them. The eggs can live up to 10 years and fire is literally the only method we know of to get rid of them. So having a wild raccoon running around your home really isn’t safe and shouldn’t be glorified. It could cause a lot of people and animals to get hurt. Peanut was certainly at risk living in close quarters with a raccoon, if that was the case.
I can tell from watching videos that Peanut was well cared for and clearly loved very much. That being said, I admittedly don’t agree with the family keeping Peanut and Fred as pets, though I believe his family’s hearts were in the right place and they were genuinely trying to help.
These animals deserved to be with an experienced wildlife rehabilitator so they had the best possible chance of release back into the wild. Once we start glorifying keeping these wild animals in people’s homes, we are going to have lots of animals trapped in doors that just want to roam free. Though it may be popular opinion that this would be fun, I can’t get behind that. It’s not what’s best for them. We worked with many professionals on Nibi and we only took her in because we were licensed to do so and had the proper facilitiy and veterinarians to give her the care she needed.
I’ll end with this though…
6 armed men sent to collect a raccoon and a squirrel is ridiculous, to put it mildly. New York’s wildlife rehabbers don’t grab 5 of their closest friends and a bunch of guns when they go out on calls to rescue wild raccoons. Rehabbers don’t have the funds or resources. A large percent of your rehabbers are female too. It’s typically a single woman with a catch pole that removed that potentially rabid raccoon from the public.
This feels like it was less about logic and more about ego. Less about protecting the public and more about putting this family in their place. Less about what was best for the animals and more about a show of force. There were many, many ways the state could have handled this situation. This was absolutely the worst possible way.
The reality of the situation is, killing Peanut didn’t make the problem go away. That was the worst thing they could have done on a logical, moral and emotional level. The state of New York just made a martyr out of that squirrel.
He’s more powerful than ever now…
