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P’nut the squirrel tests negative for rabies.

No, because rabbits can be kept as pets, unlike squirrels. 19 States in this country can let you keep them as pets, though some require a license. In the remaining states they are illegal. Here's the full list of illegal pets in case you decide to move to NY:

Animals Allowed as Pets

You can keep the following animals as pets:
  • Domesticated cat or dog
  • Rabbit
  • Horse
  • Gerbil, hamster, guinea pig, chinchilla, and other small animals
  • Parakeet, parrot, pigeon, canary, hen or female chicken, other small birds
  • Non-snapping turtle larger than 4 inches
  • Certain reptiles
  • Honeybees
Pigeon coops are also allowed if they are properly maintained and constructed.

Animals Not Allowed as Pets

You can't keep the following animals as pets:
  • Wolves, foxes, coyotes, hyenas, dingoes, jackals, and other undomesticated dogs
  • Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, pumas, panthers, mountain lions, cheetahs, cougars, bobcats, lynxes, and other undomesticated cats
  • Ferrets, weasels, minks, badgers, wolverines, skunks, and mongooses
  • Squirrels, raccoons, and bats
  • Bears, elephants, zebras, rhinoceroses, giraffes, and hippopotamuses
  • Tarantulas, black widows, and other venomous spiders
  • Iguanas, Gila monsters, and many other lizards
  • Monkeys, apes, chimpanzees, and gorillas
  • Vipers, cobras, pythons, anacondas, and many other snakes
  • Alligators, crocodiles, snapping turtles, and other turtles less than four inches in length
  • Eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, vultures, emus, ostriches, and other large or predatory birds
  • Roosters, ducks, geese, and turkeys
  • Bees (other than honeybees), hornets, wasps, and other venomous insects
  • Gophers, woodchucks, beavers, hedgehogs, porcupines, and other large rodents
  • Deer, antelopes, llamas, and camels
  • Sheep, goats, pigs, including potbellied pigs, and most farm animals
  • Kangaroos, opossums, koalas, and other marsupials
  • Dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions, walruses, and other sea mammals
  • Sharks and piranhas
I'm a bit bummed out about not being able to keep whales or sharks. That really sucks.
Illegal you say? Well, that changes everything.

Can you explain why squirrels are illegal? Is it because they live in the wild? So do rabbits.

Or does it matter? The state has ruled and we peons must comply or face their wrath and have our pets killed.
 
Illegal you say? Well, that changes everything.
It usually does, and is generally how we maintain order.

Can you explain why squirrels are illegal? Is it because they live in the wild? So do rabbits.
I can't actually. I'm equally miffed on why I can't have a pet shark. I'm an aquarist, so a shark is just a bigger fish. What's the big deal?

Or does it matter? The state has ruled and we peons must comply or face their wrath and have our pets killed.
So you don't like the concept of laws?
 
Thanks, Karen.


No, because rabbits can be kept as pets, unlike squirrels. 19 States in this country can let you keep them as pets, though some require a license. In the remaining states they are illegal. Here's the full list of illegal pets in case you decide to move to NY:

Animals Allowed as Pets

You can keep the following animals as pets:
  • Domesticated cat or dog
  • Rabbit
  • Horse
  • Gerbil, hamster, guinea pig, chinchilla, and other small animals
  • Parakeet, parrot, pigeon, canary, hen or female chicken, other small birds
  • Non-snapping turtle larger than 4 inches
  • Certain reptiles
  • Honeybees
Pigeon coops are also allowed if they are properly maintained and constructed.

Animals Not Allowed as Pets

You can't keep the following animals as pets:
  • Wolves, foxes, coyotes, hyenas, dingoes, jackals, and other undomesticated dogs
  • Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, pumas, panthers, mountain lions, cheetahs, cougars, bobcats, lynxes, and other undomesticated cats
  • Ferrets, weasels, minks, badgers, wolverines, skunks, and mongooses
  • Squirrels, raccoons, and bats
  • Bears, elephants, zebras, rhinoceroses, giraffes, and hippopotamuses
  • Tarantulas, black widows, and other venomous spiders
  • Iguanas, Gila monsters, and many other lizards
  • Monkeys, apes, chimpanzees, and gorillas
  • Vipers, cobras, pythons, anacondas, and many other snakes
  • Alligators, crocodiles, snapping turtles, and other turtles less than four inches in length
  • Eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, vultures, emus, ostriches, and other large or predatory birds
  • Roosters, ducks, geese, and turkeys
  • Bees (other than honeybees), hornets, wasps, and other venomous insects
  • Gophers, woodchucks, beavers, hedgehogs, porcupines, and other large rodents
  • Deer, antelopes, llamas, and camels
  • Sheep, goats, pigs, including potbellied pigs, and most farm animals
  • Kangaroos, opossums, koalas, and other marsupials
  • Dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions, walruses, and other sea mammals
  • Sharks and piranhas
I'm a bit bummed out about not being able to keep whales or sharks. That really sucks.
 
Ten years ago, my father-in-law and I were throwing out peanuts for the birds who were visiting our feeders (they prefer salted.) A young squirrel started coming near us to get some. We called "him" Little Buddy. Then we realized it was a female, so he became Lill. She came out almost every day, even during 2 hurricanes where she came to the back and front doors hanging on for dear life. We fed her for 6 years and then she didn't show up. We continued with the peanuts but only birds were regulars. This past spring another young squirrel showed up and I named him Lyle since we couldn't determine his sex. I always called him Lyle, and, in a few weeks, he began to respond to his name. He comes to the back porch at least 4 times a day, comes close to us to eat them and understands prepositions to find the peanuts and knows when we are going inside when we say, "this one is to go" when he takes the last one from my fingers and hides it or goes to his nest. Makes us wonder if he is part of her family.
 
Pnut was the guy's pet.
Pnut didn't pose any threat to anyone, communicable disease or otherwise.
How would anyone know this?

I have a healthy respect for rabies. I don't assume animals don't have it.
 
Ten years ago, my father-in-law and I were throwing out peanuts for the birds who were visiting our feeders (they prefer salted.) A young squirrel started coming near us to get some. We called "him" Little Buddy. Then we realized it was a female, so he became Lill. She came out almost every day, even during 2 hurricanes where she came to the back and front doors hanging on for dear life. We fed her for 6 years and then she didn't show up. We continued with the peanuts but only birds were regulars. This past spring another young squirrel showed up and I named him Lyle since we couldn't determine his sex. I always called him Lyle, and, in a few weeks, he began to respond to his name. He comes to the back porch at least 4 times a day, comes close to us to eat them and understands prepositions to find the peanuts and knows when we are going inside when we say, "this one is to go" when he takes the last one from my fingers and hides it or goes to his nest. Makes us wonder if he is part of her family.
Neat story.

But....

Do you intend to stay in your house for at least the anticipated lifetime of Lyle?

When you start feeding outdoor animals, you might not realize that you are training them to depend upon you as their food source.
 
No, because rabbits can be kept as pets, unlike squirrels. 19 States in this country can let you keep them as pets, though some require a license. In the remaining states they are illegal. Here's the full list of illegal pets in case you decide to move to NY:

Animals Allowed as Pets

You can keep the following animals as pets:
  • Domesticated cat or dog
  • Rabbit
  • Horse
  • Gerbil, hamster, guinea pig, chinchilla, and other small animals
  • Parakeet, parrot, pigeon, canary, hen or female chicken, other small birds
  • Non-snapping turtle larger than 4 inches
  • Certain reptiles
  • Honeybees
Pigeon coops are also allowed if they are properly maintained and constructed.

Animals Not Allowed as Pets

You can't keep the following animals as pets:
  • Wolves, foxes, coyotes, hyenas, dingoes, jackals, and other undomesticated dogs
  • Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, pumas, panthers, mountain lions, cheetahs, cougars, bobcats, lynxes, and other undomesticated cats
  • Ferrets, weasels, minks, badgers, wolverines, skunks, and mongooses
  • Squirrels, raccoons, and bats
  • Bears, elephants, zebras, rhinoceroses, giraffes, and hippopotamuses
  • Tarantulas, black widows, and other venomous spiders
  • Iguanas, Gila monsters, and many other lizards
  • Monkeys, apes, chimpanzees, and gorillas
  • Vipers, cobras, pythons, anacondas, and many other snakes
  • Alligators, crocodiles, snapping turtles, and other turtles less than four inches in length
  • Eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, vultures, emus, ostriches, and other large or predatory birds
  • Roosters, ducks, geese, and turkeys
  • Bees (other than honeybees), hornets, wasps, and other venomous insects
  • Gophers, woodchucks, beavers, hedgehogs, porcupines, and other large rodents
  • Deer, antelopes, llamas, and camels
  • Sheep, goats, pigs, including potbellied pigs, and most farm animals
  • Kangaroos, opossums, koalas, and other marsupials
  • Dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions, walruses, and other sea mammals
  • Sharks and piranhas
I'm a bit bummed out about not being able to keep whales or sharks. That really sucks.
Here in Ohio, raccoons sometimes get into the attics of houses. When they're trapped, state law requires they be euthanized. Reason: possible source of rabies.
 
P'Nut wasn't a nuisance, he was a pet.
What if these government thugs came and killed your cat or dog?
In most states, those who have cats or dogs are supposed to keep the animals up to date on rabies shots.
 
Neat story.

But....

Do you intend to stay in your house for at least the anticipated lifetime of Lyle?

When you start feeding outdoor animals, you might not realize that you are training them to depend upon you as their food source.
Start a campaign to ban bird feeders and peanuts, bird baths, plant habitats for bees, beneficial insects and birds, sustain migration and planting flowers and shrubs to provide food and protection.
 
Neat story.

But....

Do you intend to stay in your house for at least the anticipated lifetime of Lyle?

When you start feeding outdoor animals, you might not realize that you are training them to depend upon you as their food source.
Start a campaign to ban bird feeders and peanuts, bird baths, plant habitats for bees, beneficial insects and birds, sustain migration and planting flowers and shrubs to provide food and protection.
????

I speak from experience. Not with squirrels, but with stray cats.

Trust me, you do not want to train an outside animal to become dependent upon you as its food source. UNLESS you would have no qualms about taking a lengthy vacation or moving away from the house and thus condemning the animal to die of starvation....

Perhaps my assumption you would not want to do that to an animal is unwarranted.
 
????

I speak from experience. Not with squirrels, but with stray cats.

Trust me, you do not want to train an outside animal to become dependent upon you as its food source. UNLESS you would have no qualms about taking a lengthy vacation or moving away from the house and thus condemning the animal to die of starvation....
We're talking squirrels, not feral cats.
 
We're talking squirrels, not feral cats.
We're talking an animal that, after it becomes dependent upon you for its food, will suffer, perhaps die of starvation, if you take a lengthy vacation or otherwise vacate the house.

I can see that my concern for the cats we've misguidedly trained to become dependent upon us for their food is perhaps not shared by you re the squirrel.

My mistake.
 
In most states, those who have cats or dogs are supposed to keep the animals up to date on rabies shots.
True. Do we know that PNut didn't have his rabies shots?
 
It usually does, and is generally how we maintain order.
Protecting citizens from the scourge of keeping a harmless squirrel and a SWAT team busting into your home to kill it does maintain order. Of a sort
I can't actually. I'm equally miffed on why I can't have a pet shark. I'm an aquarist, so a shark is just a bigger fish. What's the big deal
the big deal is it's a stupid law, capriciously applied with excessive force.

So you don't like the concept of laws?
I don't much care for stupid laws. That's the libertarian in me I guess.
 
If he never went out of doors - even for a short time - and wasn't exposed to non-vaccinated cats, dogs etc, then, it looks as if the rabies risk was low. (Keep in mind I'm not a vet.)

And thanks for the today.com link.
I suspect the pet raccoon signed P'Nuts' death warrant. Raccoons are notorious as carriers of rabies. They're second only to bats. (I know this because, unknown to us, our attic was the home base for a raccoon family of 3 generations.)

...According to the DEC and the Chemung County Department of Health, Fred and Peanut were euthanized after a person involved with the investigation was bitten by Peanut.

“To test for rabies, both animals were euthanized,” they said in a joint statement. “The animals are being tested for rabies and anyone who has been in contact with these animals is strongly encouraged to consult their physician.”


While squirrels are less likely be carriers of rabies, once the human was bitten by Peanut, it had to be determined whether the squirrel was infected with rabies. And that meant Peanuts had to die.

Very sad.
 
Protecting citizens from the scourge of keeping a harmless squirrel and a SWAT team busting into your home to kill it does maintain order. Of a sort

the big deal is it's a stupid law, capriciously applied with excessive force.


I don't much care for stupid laws. That's the libertarian in me I guess.
There was a chance the squirrel had "caught" rabies from the pet raccoon. (Raccoons are second only to bats as carriers of rabies.) When the human was bitten by the squirrel, the only way to determine whether the human was at risk of having contracted rabies from Peanut was to test the squirrel, which necessarily involved killing Peanut.

A very sad development.

Note: Don't keep raccoons as pets. Rabies isn't something you want to run the risk of contracting.
 
P'Nut wasn't a nuisance, he was a pet.
What if these government thugs came and killed your cat or dog?
From what I understand he bit someone and needed a rabies check. That’s how a rabies check goes.
 
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