Additional Coverage:
Peanut the Squirrel’s death has sparked controversy. An infectious disease expert believes it was unnecessary to euthanize the squirrel for rabies testing.
Squirrels are not typically carriers of rabies, and Peanut had lived indoors for seven years. The expert suggests that officials could have quarantined the squirrel or offered rabies vaccinations instead.
Peanut’s owner is pursuing legal action. Officials claim Peanut bit an agent, but the owner insists he had been bitten multiple times without incident.
The results of the rabies test have not been released. The expert maintains that there were less drastic alternatives to euthanization.