ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — The union representing New York state conservation officers is speaking out Friday, calling for “calm” following the controversial seizure of a squirrel and a raccoon.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has faced national backlash over the recent seizure and euthanasia of Peanut the Squirrel, who had a large social media following, and Fred the Raccoon, who were owned by Mark Longo.

On Oct. 30, the DEC executed a search warrant and seized Peanut and Fred at Longo’s Chemung County residence because Longo did not have the proper license to own wildlife.

MORE: Man who took in orphaned squirrel Peanut speaks out after pets euthanized

The two animals were then euthanized to test for rabies after the DEC said the squirrel bit a person involved in the investigation.

The situation sparked national outrage and even became a right-wing icon in the 2024 election.

Earlier this week, DEC offices across the state have been targeted by bomb threats, although state police have not confirmed it was related to Peanut’s case.

Now the New York State PBA, which represents DEC officers, says the outrage is based on misinformation.

“The public was greatly misled by a spate of social media messages that presented a partial picture of the investigation and launched threats of violence fueled by misinformation. Our conservation officers understand and accept that they risk their lives every time they start a shift, but they should never fear for their safety or that of their family because they are doing the job they are sworn to do. We’re asking the public to keep in mind that these people are their friends, family and neighbors and they don’t deserve to live in fear of following the law.” the union wrote in a press release.

The release went on to say DEC initiated its investigation into Longo in January after receiving complaints from several New York state-licensed wildlife rehabilitators alleging Longo was operating an illegal wildlife sanctuary.

“Following these complaints, an environmental conservation officer contacted Mr. Longo, informing him that it is illegal to keep a squirrel unless he is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator with the intention of preparing the animal to re-enter the wild. nature. Mr. Longo told investigators that the squirrel had been released into the wild After the warning was issued, DEC continued to receive complaints and DEC management ordered an investigation DEC Investigator conducted a review of Mr. Longo’s social media accounts, which showed that Longo lied to the investigator and did not release the squirrel into the wild. In addition to keeping the squirrel in violation of the law, Longo also took a raccoon that also appeared in social media posts Mr. Longo’s social media posts were the basis for a search warrant issued by a judge.” said the union.

Longo had told the media that he was in the middle of getting the proper license when the seizure took place without notice.

He described it as a raid claiming that excessive force was used to catch Peanut and Fred’s lovers.

The union disputed those claims on Friday, saying: “Indeed, there were three uniformed environmental conservation officers who were responsible for securing the 80-acre complex, several plainclothes investigators who conducted the search pursuant to the warrant, and three DEC employees who were not police officers.”

Although the seizure had already ignited global outrage, the uproar reached a new level when it was announced that Peanut and Fred had been euthanized.

The union claims that it was not DEC’s decision to euthanize animals, but rather the Chemung County Health Department.

“After locating the squirrel, it bit one of DEC’s civilian wildlife biologists through two pairs of protective gloves. Due to the injury, the Chemung County Health Department was contacted and the squirrel and raccoon were turned in alive. The Chemung County Health Department decided to humanely euthanize both of them because it is the only way to test for rabies, since rabies testing requires a sample of brain matter to be taken. While squirrels do not carry rabies, living with the raccoon (a species known to be a vector for rabies) opened up the possibility of animal-to-animal transmission, which put the wildlife biologist in potential danger. This was unfortunate, but the decision was not made by the environmental conservation officers, investigators or DEC biologists participating in the service of this warrant. said the union.