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Mark Longo, the owner of Peanut the Squirrel, has responded to rumors he used the tragic death of the animal to promote his OnlyFans account.
Longo – the Pine City, New York, native who turned an orphan squirrel into a social media sensation – denied the accusations he was capitalizing on the animal’s recent euthanization in an interview with TMZ.
On October 30, the Department of Environmental Conservation raided Longo’s house, where he lives with his wife Daniela, to seize Peanut and Fred, his rescued raccoon. According to the agency, they had received several complaints about illegally keeping animals in an unsafe environment. Both animals were subsequently euthanized.
Longo claimed he was trying to get the proper licensing for Peanut to be certified as an educational animal. However, he had failed to comply with state laws that require owners to get a license for a wild animal in time.
Speaking to TMZ, Long said he believed his OnlyFans account may be why Peanut and Fred were taken. The social media star claimed authorities questioned whether he had cameras in his home during the raid.
Longo claimed the home invasion was prompted by complaints from someone who didn’t approve of him shooting intimate footage with his wife, or that he had babysat his neighbor’s children on a separate occasion. He also told TMZ that everything he’s filmed with his wife has been legal.
Two days after Peanut and Fred were put down, the DEC and the Chemung County Health Department said the two wild animals were euthanized to test for rabies, citing someone involved the investigation who claimed they were bit by the animals. However, Longo claimed this wasn’t true.
“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. They took them from my house and just killed them,” he told the Associated Press in an interview. “We will make a stance on how this government and New York state utilizes their resources.”
The Independent has contacted the DEC for comment.
Longo took in Peanut seven years ago after the animal’s mother was hit by a car in New York City. Since then, Longo’s transformed Peanut into an internet celebrity, garnering over 700,000 followers on Instagram and about 265,000 on TikTok. Meanwhile, Fred allegedly came to Longo a few months ago, arriving on his doorstep with several injuries.
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