This Squirrel Could Be Killed Because He Can't Be Released Back Into the Wild

Tintin the squirrel has more than 130,000 followers on Instagram and his YouTube channel has nearly 5,000 subscribers. The five-year-old red squirrel was rescued by Decan Andersen from Værløse, Denmark in 2014 and since then, Decan has been sharing photos and videos of his beloved rescue squirrel with the world. He is one of a host of animal superstars on social media who rakes in the likes and comments on a daily basis. But not everyone is a fan.

Danish officials have demanded that Mr. Andersen release Tintin into the wild because he doesn't have the proper permit to own a squirrel. The Danish environmental protection agency, Miljøstyrelsen, has now warned that they may take "coercive measures" if Tintin is not released.

"Coercive measures" never sounds good, but when it refers to an animal that's considered a member of the family, it's even more worrying. And now Decan has a horrible choice to make, release Tintin where he will most likely die in the wild because he doesn't know how to make it on his own, or relinquish the squirrel over to the state where he might be killed.

When Decan found Tintin he was in dire need of medical help. He had open wounds and if Decan hadn't have stepped in, he would have surely died. Months after he was nursed back to health, Decan tried to release him, but Tintin kept coming back.

Tintin doesn't want to live in the wild, and he couldn't survive there even if he did.

Clearly, no one wants thousands of people with squirrels or other native wild animals in their backyards, but Tintin is a special case and Miljøstyrelsen should make an exception. And they certainly shouldn't kill him since he has done nothing but been a good loyal pet whose hurt no one.

Please sign the petition and demand that Miljøstyrelsen give Decan the proper permit so he can continue to take care of Tintin.
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