this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2024
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Peanut, who has amassed more than half a million Instagram followers, was euthanized by officials to be tested for rabies.

Peanut, the Instagram-famous squirrel that was seized from its owner's home Wednesday, has been euthanized by New York state officials. 

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation took Peanut, as well as a raccoon named Fred, on Wednesday after the agency learned the animals were “sharing a residence with humans, creating the potential for human exposure to rabies," it said in a joint statement with the Chemung County Department of Health.

Both Peanut and Fred were euthanized to test for rabies, the statement said. It was unclear when the animals were euthanized.

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[–] NoForwardslashS@sopuli.xyz 96 points 3 days ago (5 children)

The only charge is "potential to spread rabies" and they killed the animal to test for that (for some reason). So, if the test comes back negative, they will make full repariations right?

[–] borf@lemmynsfw.com 80 points 3 days ago (1 children)

No, the cruelty is the point. The kind of people who made this happen have common sense just like the rest of us, that 7-year-old squirrel didn't have rabies. They refuse to make exceptions or use common sense because they specifically want to hurt others.

[–] rishado@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

I feel like these are kneejerk reactions to the headline. Think with your brain not your heart (I'm not trying to be an ass, forget about the cutesy animals and think about this guy owning wild animals and exploiting them for money on social media) The cruelty is not the point. You can't just own wild animals without a license and without veterinary care...

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[–] SARGE@startrek.website 40 points 3 days ago (3 children)

full repariations

And surely such reparations would take into account future lost revenue, as they would be expected to it this were a regular person against a corporation.

Surely.

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[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 33 points 3 days ago (25 children)

It's because rabies infects the brains of animals, so that's the tissue that is tested.

I'm wondering why the people who were caring for the animals didn't just get them rabies shots in the first place.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 25 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I wonder why animal control officers who handle animals suspected of having rabies DON'T HAVE THEIR FUCKING RABIES VACCINATION. I needed a thousand dollar shot just to volunteer for a fucking animal shelter.

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[–] bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net 23 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Unfortunately rabies testing requires samples of the brain. This is why if you are bitten by an animal you suspect of having rabies, a professional should catch it and test the animal. The tests that exist for diagnosis in living humans are not reliable.

https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/php/laboratories/diagnostic.html#:~:text=Rabies%20testing%20requires%20that%20the,after%20an%20animal%20is%20euthanized.

In this case I didn't open the story to see why they believed a domesticated squirrel needed to be tested.

Edit: somebody that didn't interact with the animals complained they might have rabies?

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[–] NENathaniel@lemmy.ca 40 points 3 days ago

What a depressing story

[–] Mac@mander.xyz 50 points 3 days ago (7 children)

Wild squirrels are not legal pets in NY—not that the legality necessitates this cruel outcome.

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[–] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 49 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Disgusting, FYI yes squirrels can carry rabies, but it is extremely, I say again EXTREMELY rare, and transmission to a human via a squirrel is even MORE rare than that. Typically rabies just outright kills small rodents such as squirrels

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[–] rotten@lemm.ee 24 points 3 days ago (3 children)

This is what government does. It finds you breaking some arbitrary rule and makes the worst possible outcome for all parties involved. Then they pretend and act like it's for your own good.

Squirrels don't normally carry rabies. There were plenty of other options.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (3 children)

There were no other options, imo. The inspector who was bitten likely did get a vaccine immediately, but vaccines are not guaranteed to work. There is no reliable way to test an animal for rabies without killing it.

These rules exist to help people and animals, and law enforcement followed them all to the letter.

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[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Squirrels don't normally carry rabies.

While not impossible, it's actually considered near impossible by experts. For whatever reason, smaller mammals seem to simply not be affected by rabies.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Because they generally die before they infect others. They absolutely can get rabies. I have never seen anyone say it's "near impossible" except pro-wild-animals-as-pets "experts".

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[–] Coskii@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago

I read this article a couple days ago. It reminded me of this short tale:

https://youtube.com/shorts/GUtBjDYBOhU?si=-hXDUDwelGAWdhtl

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