Danish celebrity squirrel Tintin risks losing his life!
Decan Andersen adopted a red squirrel which has fallen from a tree in his garden and got injured. The squirrel has been staying with the family now for nearly 5 years. The authorities have now asked Decan that the squirrel who he has named Tintin be released into the wild.
Tintin the Danish celebrity squirrel
Five years back, a red squirrel had dropped down from a tree in the garden of retired person Decan Andersen in the Copenhagen suburb of Værløse. It had severe open wounds and required immediate vet care and nursing to survive. After the initial care, Decan and his family adopted the squirrel. They named him Tintin and continued to take care of the animal.
The family and Decan became so attached to the squirrel that they started an Instagram account for him. It has become like a member of the family now for the Andersen household. Soon, the squirrel’s social media picked up and started getting many followers. Presently, it has 135.2k followers on Instagram and its YouTube channel has over 46k fans following it. He also has a Facebook page with 28k likes. There is also a website made for the pet squirrel.
The squirrel has become a celebrity and has also featured on Swedish as well as American media. Decan spends 4 hours per day walking the animal on a lead.
Decan Andersen asked to release the squirrel
The Environment Protection Agency called Miljøstyrelsen have contacted Decan Andersen and told him that he needs a special permit to keep a wild animal in the house. Since he does not have it, he has to release the squirrel back in the wild, TV2 Nyheder reports. The authorities have stated that he needs to set the squirrel free and Tintin has to leave its long-term owner.
The authorities have added that they can allow a 6-month rehabilitation period for the squirrel when it was ailing. But now it has been more than 5 years and they cannot allow the owner to keep the squirrel with him indefinitely. They have sent a letter to Decan and in that, they have mentioned that they may even use coercive measures if required.
Lasse Sehested Jensen from Miljøstyrelsen gave an interview to TV2 and in that he said:
“We are working on a solution, but I cannot say more as the case is on-going,”
Decan Andersen and his fears for Tintin
Decan and his family fear for Tintin now. They are afraid that the authorities may confiscate him one day and throw him back in the wild where his life is actually in danger.
Elaborating on his fears, Decan revealed that when Tintin’s wounds had healed, he tried to put the squirrel back into Nature but the squirrel kept returning to his house. It seems that when they go out, Decan and his family put the squirrel on a lead. This has upset the authorities more than anything else. Explaining on this point, Decan said:
“The lead gives Tintin security,”
He continued:
“When he doesn’t have a lead on, he refuses to go outside, and when I try to take it off him when we’re taking a walk, he runs back to our house,”
Decan further said:
“Of course I understand that you can’t have a deer caged up in your house, but this is a very different situation. I have helped baby squirrels before Tintin and they were all comfortable being re-introduced to the wild but he does not want to,”
If the squirrel and the Decan family are happy, why interfere and create turmoil in the lives of both??? Rules are not above humans or happiness and hope the authorities understand this!
Source: The Post, daily mail, Metro UK
