The damage has been done, the anger has not dissipated, and the New York government appears deaf to demands from its victims and from observers that they offer actual answers to many questions.
The New York Post reports that Mark Longo and his wife, as well as many irate followers of his pet squirrel, Peanut, and pet raccoon, Fred, are justifiably angry and dissatisfied with the slow, nearly nonexistent, release of information about the government invasion of his home, theft of the two pets, and subsequent killing of the animals.
“The state is probing how its agents bungled the hours-long raid on an upstate New York home that led to the tragic death of internet-famous squirrel P’Nut — as The Post identified the lead investigator behind the bushy-whacking.
The Department of Environmental Conservation said it is conducting an 'internal investigation' into the much-criticized seizure of P’Nut and Fred the raccoon at Mark Longo’s Pine City home.
Both animals were euthanized — and likely decapitated — as the state claimed it tested them for rabies after P’Nut bit one of the agents on the hand during the raid. An unconvinced Longo said the officers wore heavy protective gloves.”
Observers of photo-stills from footage of the invasion could see the “officers” wearing their gloves, and they likely are aware that not only is the risk of rabies for wild squirrels and raccoons actually very low, Peanut (also known as P’Nut, as noted, above) had been raised as an indoor pet since Mark Longo found the peanut-sized newborn beside the body of his mother after she was hit by a car.
The grisly likely final head-severing act of the government here is, of course, not its final act, because the government will continue to force its human victims to be pliant taxpayers, even to the point of funding the so-called “internal investigation” into the ever-present bureaucracy that attacked the Longos.
“’An internal investigation into the matter is ongoing, and we are reviewing internal policies and procedures to ensure we continue serving this core mission,’ a DEC spokesperson told The Post Friday.”
In other words, “We will delay and delay, on your taxpayer dime, until we feel that enough time has passed for people to turn away and focus on other matters. We need to dodge the justified indignation.”
Related: Outrage Erupts as NY Agents Euthanize Rescuer's Beloved Squirrel and Raccoon
As the NY Post notes, if the state truly was worried about “rabies,” this delay does not fit what its bureaucrats purport to be their standard of getting out info on potential health risks – things should be moving much more rapidly.
“But Gov. Hochul’s office, the DEC, the state Health Department and the Chemung County Health Department continued to refuse to share the results of any testing on the animals or the status of the allegedly wounded official — despite the viral disease being a deadly public health risk.
Rabies test results are usually available within 24 to 72 hours after the animal is euthanized and the sample is received at the lab, according to the CDC. Results for specimens sent to the state DOH’s Wadsworth Center are typically available the workday following their arrival.
The center, which is supposed to publish monthly rabies reports, has not done so since June and refused to answer if it received any specimens from Chemung County in recent weeks.”
And, not only is the government not offering rabies reports, it is not responding to logical questions from Mr. Longo, and it is not responding to queries from NY Post reporters:
“Hochul promised early in her tenure to make transparency ‘the hallmark’ of her administration. Her office has not responded to several inquiries from The Post.
‘You claimed rabies. . . but you haven’t made a public comment on it?’ a heart-broken Longo, 34, told The Post of the state’s reticence. ‘As a taxpayer, is my life and what you caused me not good enough to respond?’”
A DEC spokesperson instructed The Post to file a Freedom of Information Law request in response to multiple requests for the rabies test results, which it has done, while a dispatcher directed a reporter to a hotline set up for P’Nut callers to leave messages.”
The scant details we do have indicate that, even on their petulant and arbitrary level, the government can’t keep its story straight. The “lead officer” has been identified, but in the paperwork for him and his goons to invade Mr. Longo’s home, there is absolutely no mention of rabies as a worry.
“DEC Investigator Joshua Crain executed the search warrant after receiving a sign-off from Chemung County Judge Richard W. Rich Jr. the day before, according to court documents.
The warrant noted Crain’s suspicions that the couple was unlawfully housing a gray squirrel and raccoon, but made no mention of rabies or any other imminent dangers.
Crain was named Wildlife Officer of the Year in 2022 by a conservation-based group, with the DEC lauding a work philosophy, ironically, that ‘promotes education first and enforcement when needed.’
‘What happened in my house, if you think that was an educational [action] — I don’t know,’ seethed Longo, who plans on suing the DEC.”
Surely, many people worldwide are rooting for his victory, and perhaps many of those observers will recognize the falsity in the myth that government exists to “protect” people. They can hold onto that truth as agents of government tell them to shell over more money to the machine.
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