In the United States there is a scandal over the adoption of the famous in social networks squirrel Peanut
In the American media and social networks are actively discussing the seizure of the popular pet squirrel Peanut from the owner and putting the animal to sleep in the state of New York.
According to the Associated Press, Peanut’s owner Jack Longo picked up the squirrel seven years ago as a cub after the mother squirrel was hit by a car. The man later created an animal account on the social network Instagram*, to which more than 500,000 users have subscribed. On Wednesday, New York State Department of Conservation officials seized peanut and Fred, a raccoon who lived with Longo, and both animals were put to sleep to prevent rabies. The conservation department cited repeated complaints about the illegal keeping of wild animals. According to AP, it is illegal in the state to keep animals taken from the wild without a special license.
‘The overreaching state kidnapped and executed an orphaned squirrel,’ billionaire Elon Musk commented on the incident on social network X.
In another post, the entrepreneur also expressed the opinion that the state should not interfere in the personal affairs of animal owners.
At the same time, supporters of the Republican Party of the United States turned the issue of euthanasia of squirrels into a political one due to the fact that the state of New York is traditionally considered a stronghold of the Democratic Party. Thus, actor Sean Maguire criticized the state’s Democratic government for not paying enough attention to murderers and robbers. The son of presidential candidate Trump Donald Trump Jr, in turn, accused the Democrats of being engaged in the destruction of domestic squirrels instead of fighting illegal migration to the United States.
‘Maybe killing Peanut will be the catalyst for real change <…> in our government’s priorities,’ he said.
Putting squirrels to sleep has already begun to turn into another element of Donald Trump’s campaign ahead of the presidential election. In particular, Musk said that the candidate would save all squirrels, while pro-Republican political commentator Robby Starbuck promised to win the election for Peanut.
* The activity of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) is banned in Russia as extremist.