An orphaned squirrel named Peanut, who became a beloved online sensation, was seized from its caretaker’s home and euthanized by order of New York state.
Peanut the Squirrel became a social media star after content creator Mark Longo took him in and raised him for 7 years, where they shared funny and wholesome videos, eventually boasting 534,000 followers on Instagram.
Clearly outraged and devastated, Longo explained to TMZ how his Pine City home was raided Wednesday by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation in search of his squirrel and raccoon in the wake of anonymous complaints, and they were eventually confiscated.
“Officers raided my house as if I was a drug dealer. I was sat outside my house for five hours. I had to get a police escort to my bathroom,” Longo said Friday, adding that even his wife was questioned over her immigration status.
The owners of #Peanut the squirrel are going nuclear on government officials in New York, accusing the state of abusing power and wasting taxpayer funds to seize and kill their pet. Watch their full interview on @TMZLive here: https://t.co/1rXzVTABx1 pic.twitter.com/rtHpBOl14x
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 1, 2024
“I wasn’t even allowed to feed my rescue horses breakfast or lunch. I sat there like a criminal after they interrogated my wife to check out her immigration status.”
“Then proceeded to ask me if I had cameras in my house. Then proceeded to go through every cabinet, nook and cranny of my house for a squirrel and raccoon,” he continued.
“They got a search warrant for departments, and a judge signed off on a search warrant for a squirrel and a raccoon. And then they took them and killed them,” Longo added.
In more than 1,400 posts shared to Instagram, Peanut, who’d been living with Longo for 7 years, can be seen munching on waffles, jumping through hula-hoops, wearing funny hats, and greeting Longo home from work.
After the outrageous raid, Longo took to Instagram to break the shocking news and explained how Peanut’s fame helped him kickstart the P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary that rescued 350 animals thanks to online donations.
Well internet, you WON. You took one of the most amazing animals away from me because of your selfishness. To the group of people who called DEC, there’s a special place in hell for you. Today at 10am Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024…The NY State DEC showed up to my house and took Peanut. He was TAKEN to the EUTHANIZED. Im in shock, disbelief, and disgusted to the people who did this to, PNUT. For the last 7 years, Peanut has been my best friend. He’s been the center of my world and many of yours for so long, I don’t know how to process this, emotionally.
Peanut’s tragic demise serves as another disgusting example of government overreach taken to the extreme.
Government overreach kidnapped an orphan squirrel and executed him … https://t.co/YKoOCJWLMv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2024
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article included a statement that was falsely attributed to former President Donald Trump. The article has been corrected.