Please contact NYS Senators to Create 3 Autonomous Regions Pamela Helming, is the sponsor of S3484 Co-sponsors are George M. Borrello, Dean Murray, Peter Oberacker, & Thomas F. O'Mara. We need a majority of the 63 senators to co-sponsors it to pass the senate so if people don't send monthly emails to their senator, or call their office, it stays in committee.
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The big story that circulated around the internet over the weekend was not about the 2024 presidential election or the pending retaliation from Iran over the Israeli attack. No, it was about a pet squirrel that was seized by state authorities from a Chemung County, New York property. In fact, the events surrounding the abduction of a family pet reveal just about everything that you need to know about the priorities, procedures, and abuse of power that governments display on a regular basis.

Mark Longo owns a sanctuary for hundreds of rescued farm animals (such as horses, goats, pigs, cows, alpacas, and geese) in Pine City near Elmira and the Pennsylvania border, and he raised money for his operation by showing off his pet squirrel, Peanut, across social media, where he had 534,000 followers. The Instagram-famous, hat-wearing, and waffle-eating squirrel, which also did tricks and jumped through hula hoops and onto his owner’s shoulders for viewers, was originally orphaned after his mother was hit by a car. Longo, who could not successfully find a wildlife rehabilitation center that would take the animal in, nursed the squirrel himself for eight months before releasing him into the wild, only to find Peanut with a broken tail and sitting on the porch waiting to be let inside less than two days later. Since the squirrel was not suited to live life outside, he lived in luxury for the next seven years inside the residence with Longo’s wife and cat. A few months ago, a raccoon named Fred was dropped off at the front door, and Longo decided to care for this injured animal too before he could be released back to the wild.

However, all good things must come to an end, as the “experts” at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) sent roughly ten armed agents to knock on the door with a search warrant. Longo was just minding his own business, caring for his animals, and not bothering anyone else, but the powerful police state apparatus that has been built up in this country came down on the family and tore apart the house for five hours looking for a squirrel and raccoon. Aside from asking what kind of heartless judge would have authorized a raid on someone’s house to steal a pet, Longo was prevented from feeding his farm animals and even going to the bathroom without being escorted. He recounted that he was essentially treated like a “terrorist” or “drug dealer.” Even his wife, who is of German descent, was detained and questioned about her immigration status (a separate issue from wildlife or environmental conservation). These state environmental police acted like armed thugs and a small invasion force dispatched by the state government and protected by state law (and Governor Kathy Hochul, who will do nothing about it). Although it is common for our militarized police in this country to raid homes for drugs, guns, and other contraband and sometimes break into the wrong home, kill family pets, and injure residents; to use such excessive force to confiscate a squirrel seems like a whole new form of tyranny.

The Left’s “follow the experts” mentality, pro-bureaucracy stance, and arm police but disarm the populace attitude led to this raid and excessive force by law enforcement; but the real tragedy of this incident was that after the agents stole the beloved squirrel and raccoon from the home, they murdered both of them under the guise of testing for rabies. It is illegal to own wild animals in the ultra-liberal New York (or do much of anything), and since the experts argue that squirrels and raccoons are better suited for the woods than people’s homes, they thought that it would be better for these particular animals’ welfare to be euthanized out of concern for possible rabies infections (emphasis on “possible”). Yes, the squirrel that was being ripped from his home and threatened with kidnapping supposedly bit one of the trespassing home invading officers in the protective glove that he or she was wearing (would you not expect an animal to defend itself from aggression?), but that is not justification to suspect an animal to have rabies. To punish the squirrel and Longo for not having a license, the state government killed the squirrel and raccoon in cold blood. Although Longo was already working with the DEC on the months’ long and headache-induced process of obtaining a license and then registering the squirrel in a state database, the DEC just could not wait any longer to take away Longo’s pet and make him miserable.

It is claimed that it is necessary to kill animals in order to test for rabies, but without a legitimate reason to believe that the animals had rabies, it was really just a stunt and excuse to strip away someone’s livelihood. In fact, squirrels seldom ever get rabies (even the New York State Department of Health admits this), and although raccoons often do, Longo would have known if his animals carried a disease that can be transmitted to humans. Yes, folks, this is the bureaucratic and expert-run government that we are forced to live under.

What may be worse than even the fact that the majority-Democratic and New York City-run government in Albany invaded the 350-acre P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary is that fellow citizens snitched on Longo and notified the DEC that there were wild animals living on the property without proper documentation. Does this sound a little like Nazi Germany to anyone, where it becomes your civic duty to inform on your neighbors to appease the state? We got a taste of this during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, when paranoid and obedient sheep of the state called in anonymous complaints that people were throwing backyard parties, not wearing masks, or opening businesses in violation of the governor’s executive edicts (not laws passed by the legislature). As Americans, we think that we are above repeating the history of fascism, but in reality, we relive it through our compliance and allowance of government abuse. Longo tearfully said, “To the group of people who called DEC, there’s a special place in hell for you.” Maybe these snitchers should improve their own lives before harassing someone who did no harm to them. 

By the time you read this, the 2024 election results may or may not be confirmed yet, but never forget the persistence of liberals and progressives to rob people of their happiness by forcing everyone to comply with the rule of oligarchs disguised as experts. The sad reality is that the people of Upstate New York (New Amsterdam) do not want this totalitarian mindset ruling over them, but the majority government, composed of largely downstate Democrats, will not let them live their lives as they see fit. One city gets to dictate to the fifty counties north of the five boroughs what is and is not acceptable, and as we see from the Peanut the squirrel incident, the state’s Democratic majority is willing to send armed agents of the state to confiscate a cherished member of the family.


[reposted from the 11/06/24 Substack blog article with permission from the author, Craig Peterson, Jr.]