Of Peanut & Fred
Property Rights Matter
Update: Elon Musk has this pinned on his account:
Right now, there is storm in social media over a squirrel and a racoon. A New York family rescued small animals who could not defend themselves and raised them (https://nypost.com/2024/11/01/us-news/peanut-the-squirrel-beloved-pet-and-internet-sensation-put-to-death-by-new-york-state/ and https://www.eonline.com/news/1409452/instagram-famous-peanut-the-squirrel-and-fred-the-raccoon-euthanized-by-new-york-officials). And the New York Government not only confiscated the animals but executed them.
This was a flagrant violation of property rights. Chris Cuomo, who has not completely lost his mind, interviewed Mark Lango, the animal owner regarding this horrible violation of property rights.
But on social media, the issue has exploded right at a time when public trust is government is falling. If the squirrel and the racoon had been illegal immigrants, they would not have been killed. This issue may impact the election.
Government officials skirted the law in seizing these animals since the animals did not display any erratic or disturbing behavior. What if these animals were on the endangered species list and the government exterminated them? I am not a big animal enthusiast. Animals damage things and relieve themselves anywhere they please. Yow, the odor is bad! However, I have empathy for those who put their passion in rescuing and raising animals. Their rights to own an animal and care for them should not be violated and the animals should be so gratuitously murdered. (Song in video below is Kyle Hume’s song - If I Would Have Known)
Nebraska is wonderfully different on this matter. The Nebraska Humane Society actually allows you to adopt a whole assortment of animals (https://www.nehumanesociety.org/adopt/critters/). In fact, they encourage you to have a cuddle buddy for election night!
Raccoon