Thú

[005]

"Đậu đã đi rồi"

---

Peanut the Instagram-famous squirrel is seized by New York officials

Wild squirrel that was taken in by Mark Longo seven years ago was confiscated after conservation officials received reports of ‘potentially unsafe housing of wildlife’


Mark Longo holds his rescue squirrel Peanut, which has since been seized by officers from New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation. Photograph: Mark Longo/AP

A New York man who turned a rescued squirrel into a social media star called Peanut is pleading with state authorities to return his beloved pet after they seized it during a raid that also yielded a raccoon named Fred.

Multiple anonymous complaints about Peanut – also spelled P’Nut or PNUT – brought at least six officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to Mark Longo’s home on Wednesday, Longo said.

“The DEC came to my house and raided my house without a search warrant to find a squirrel!” said Longo,from Pine City. “I was treated as if I was a drug dealer and they were going for drugs and guns.”

The officers left with Peanut, who has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms during his seven years with Longo. They also took Fred, a more recent addition to the family.

By Thursday night, Longo had gathered nearly 20,000 signatures urging the return of Peanut, and says he has hired a legal team to get Peanut back.

A spokesperson for the DEC said in a statement that the agency had started an investigation after receiving “multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets.”

Longo, who runs an animal refuge inspired by his squirrel buddy called P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, took to Instagram to mourn Peanut’s loss and said he fears that Peanut has been euthanised. “I don’t know if Peanut is alive,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday. “I don’t know where he is.”

The DEC spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether Peanut had been euthanised.

Longo said he took in Peanut seven years ago after seeing Peanut’s mother get hit by a car in New York City. Longo brought Peanut home and cared for him for eight months before trying to release the squirrel. “A day and a half later I found him sitting on my porch missing half of his tail with his bone sticking out,” Longo said.

Longo decided that Peanut lacked the survival skills to live in the wild and would remain an indoor squirrel.

Internet fame followed, after Longo posted videos of Peanut playing with his cat.

An Instagram account dedicated to Peanut shows the animal leaping on to Longo’s shoulder, wearing a miniature cowboy hat, and eating a waffle while wearing crocheted bunny ears.

Over the years Peanut’s story has been featured on TV and newspapers including USA Today.

Longo, who works as a mechanical engineer, was living in Norwalk, Connecticut, until he decided to move to upstate New York last year to start an animal sanctuary. P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary opened in April 2023 and now houses about 300 animals including horses, goats and alpacas, said Longo, who runs the sanctuary with his wife, Daniela, and other family members.

Longo is aware that it’s against New York state law to own a wild animal without a licence. He said he was in the process of filing paperwork to get Peanut certified as an educational animal.

“If we’re not following the rules, guide us in the right direction to follow the rules, you know?” Longo said. “Let us know what we need to do to have Peanut in the house and not have to worry about him getting taken.”

As for Fred, Longo said he had had the raccoon for only a few months and was hoping to rehabilitate the injured creature and release him back into the woods.

Longo is not the first animal owner to protest against the confiscation of a pet by New York authorities. A Buffalo-area man whose alligator was seized by the DEC in March is suing the agency to get the 750lb (340kg) reptile back.

/* src.: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...d-new-york-dec

[ốc]

Mồi mới:

strange barnacles on Australian beaches
https://www.theguardian.com/australi...-beaches-bondi

Goose barnacles look as strange as their name, with a long, noodle-like stalk emerging from smooth white plates. The crustacean, also known as percebes, is also extremely expensive – in Europe, where it’s enjoyed as a delicacy, a kilo might cost hundreds of dollars.

And this week, a bunch washed up at Horseshoe Bay, south of Adelaide.

A few days later, more were spotted on Bondi beach, Sydney.

“They attach themselves to something, and they stay there their whole life,” she said. “They’re more related to crabs and shrimp than they are to cockles or pippies.”

Ngày mai em đi biển nhớ đem theo lọ cồn…
(Biển nhớ)

[ốc]

Nam hải ngạc thần:

Cassius, the world’s largest captive crocodile
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...died-last-week

Cassius, a Guinness World Record holder thought to be at least 110 years old, died at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island, just off Cairns, where he lived since 1987.

The exact cause of his death is unknown but could likely be attributed to old age. Cassius died mere weeks after his decades-long best mate and the owner of Marineland Melanesia, George Craig, left the island and moved into aged care on the mainland.

The rings on a sample of Cassius’ femur bone will be counted to try to determine his age, similar to that of tree rings. A sample has also been taken from each major organ, and his skin and head have been preserved.

The world’s oldest known crocodile, named Henry, resides at the Crocworld Conservation Center in South Africa and is set to turn 124 this December.

Sấu già sấu lội, người già người vội về hưu.
(Tục ngữ)

[ốc]

Thịt bò biển: thuỷ ngưu

burger made from processed sea squirts?
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...ed-sea-squirts

The dishes come from Pronofa Asa, a Scandinavian company whose purpose is to make new and sustainable protein sources. In 2022, it acquired the Swedish research company Marine Taste and expanded on its work turning ciona – or “sea squirts” to you and me – into mincemeat.

Pronofa plans to have its mincemeat on supermarket shelves in Norway and Sweden before the end of the year, it says, and will aim to expand throughout Europe in the coming years.

Ciona is naturally rich in proteins, and can be used as an alternative feed for fish or animals as well as people.

Cultivated chicken was approved for sale to consumers in Singapore in 2020 and in the US in 2023 and cultivated steak was approved in Israel in 2024. Scores of companies around the world are developing similar products, including using pork and fish.

Holy cow! It’s a sushi burger.

[ốc]

Mặt trâu đầu ngựa:

Severed horse head found at Sicilian property
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...odfather-scene

The businessman, who is well known in the town, reported the incident to police and told them he had previously received threats and warnings. Police think he may have been targeted for allegedly refusing to pay protection money or comply with other mafia demands.

The scene echoes the moment in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film when a producer wakes to find the severed head of his thoroughbred horse in his bed.

Delivering severed animal heads or dismembered animal bodies is among the most common intimidation tactics employed by the mafia in Sicily, predating the Godfather.

According to investigators, the tactic serves the dual purpose of terrorising its victims and striking at their most cherished bonds: animals to which they are often deeply attached.

Last May, the head of a goat was found in front of the home of a construction entrepreneur in Palermo and in 2023, a pig’s head was hung at the gate of a police station in the province of Messina.

Cướp đêm là giặc cướip ngày là ma phia.
(Sicilia dao)

[ốc]

Yêu nai cởi áo cho nai:

Elusive deer spotted wearing high-vis jacket in Canada
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...itish-columbia

Standing nonchalantly on the roadside was a mule deer clad in a high-visibility work jacket, its legs fitted neatly through the arm holes and the zip firmly closed.

In the days since the deer was spotted, speculation has produced few leads – or culprits.

Conservation staff have so far been unable to locate the deer despite its distinct and unfortunate appearance, and have appealed to the public for tips.

Chắc là nai của Santa Claus để kéo xe.

[ốc]

Tình yêu mật ngọt, mật ngọt con ong
Tình yêu mật giả, mật giả trong đời:

‘huge fraud’ in global supply honey chain
https://www.theguardian.com/business...t-honey-awards

The World Beekeeping Awards will not award a prize for honey next year after warnings of widespread fraud in the global supply chain.

The decision came as beekeepers and importers face a mounting crisis over the scale of fraud, with warnings that genuine products are bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup. Some common tests to detect fraud can easily be defeated, and beekeepers say there has been a failure by food watchdogs and the industry to combat the fraudsters.

About 45% of honeys were rejected at the awards in Montreal in 2019 for a variety of reasons, including suspected adulteration. At the Istanbul congress in 2022, 39 out of 145 honeys were withdrawn for suspected adulteration.

Bernhard Heuvel, president of the European Professional Beekeepers Association, said there was overwhelming evidence of fraud in the supply chain. “It’s just unbelievable if the world organisation for all beekeepers cannot guarantee the authenticity of honey. The scale of this fraud is huge.”

Thương cho honey thật
Ghét cho mật pha đường
(Tục ngữ)