Viral Nutria Neuty Dies at 5½ After Cancer Battle and 37,000-Strong Instagram Following
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 13
Viral Nutria Neuty Dies at 5½ After Cancer Battle and 37,000-Strong Instagram Following
5 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 13
Neuty, the pet nutria whose Louisiana saga drew national attention, died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, his owners said Monday, about two months after revealing he had an inoperable cancerous tumor.
37,000-plus Instagram followers and local businesses posted condolences after the Lacostes said they noticed a change in his personality on Friday; he ate a final milk bone treat before dying about an hour later.
Found as a newborn on a Metairie roadside on Christmas Eve 2020, Neuty became a family pet despite nutria being an invasive species that damages Louisiana crops, marshes and coastline.
17,000 petition signatures helped the Lacostes fend off a state effort to confiscate him, turning Neuty into a local celebrity who later appeared on Fox News and at schools, fairs and Mardi Gras events.
As new laws increasingly ban exotic pets, was the public fight to save Neuty the last victory of its kind?
When does one animal's life matter more than the ecological threat its entire species represents?