Officials Confirm They Euthanized Peanut the Rescue Squirrel Because Someone Involved with the Raid to Seize It Was Bitten

An orphaned squirrel that became a social media star called Peanut was euthanized after state authorities seized the beloved pet during a raid on his caretaker’s home, authorities said Friday.
After anonymous complaints, officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation took the squirrel and a raccoon named Fred from Mark Longo’s home near the Pennsylvania border in rural Pine City on Wednesday, Longo said.
On Friday, the DEC and Chemung County Department of Health confirmed both animals’ fate.

“On Oct. 30, DEC seized a raccoon and squirrel sharing a residence with humans, creating the potential for human exposure to rabies,” the agencies said in a statement, CBS News in New York reported.
“In addition, a person …