A well-known squirrel nicknamed Peanut was seized by the authorities. That’s why

NEW YORK – The New York state government withdrew A famous squirrel on Instagram named Peanut from the home of a New York City man on Wednesday.

Let’s just say they weren’t as crazy about the idea as Mark Longo and his half a million followers. Longo’s pets also include a raccoon named Fred, who was also seized during the raid.

Longo said at least six officers from the state Department of Environmental Protection came to his door to find Peanut.

The raid on Longo’s home in rural Pine City, near the Pennsylvania border, was prompted by several anonymous complaints about Peanut — also called P’Nut or PNUT.

“Well, Internet, you WIN. You took one of the most amazing animals from me because of your selfishness,” he wrote on Instagram.

A spokesman for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said in a statement that the agency began the investigation after receiving “numerous reports from the public of potentially unsafe housing of wild animals that may carry rabies and illegal keeping of wild animals as pets.”

Longo, 34, a mechanical engineer by trade, says he moved to New York in 2023 with ambitions to start an animal rescue nonprofit on behalf of Peanuts called P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary.

The organization opened in April 2023 and currently cares for approximately 300 animals, including horses, goats and alpacas. Longo runs the sanctuary with his wife, Daniela, and other family members.

He initially took in Peanut after determining that he lacked the survival skills to live in the wild and needed to remain a house squirrel instead.

Judging by Peanut’s Instagram account, he’s clearly no ordinary squirrel. He aptly jumps on Longo’s shoulders, wears a fancy cowboy hat, and even eats waffles.

“I don’t even know how I will continue,” he wrote on Instagram.

He claims that Arakhis was taken to be euthanized.

Although Longo says he knows New York state law makes it illegal to own a wild animal without a license, he says he was going to file for Peanut to be certified as a training animal.

In response, Longo says he’s taking a step away from social media, adding, “THANK YOU for breaking up a family.”

Longo says he will host a fundraiser for anyone who wants to make a donation on behalf of Peanuts. “I will never give up on this nonprofit or those who fell in love with peanuts,” he wrote.

As for Fred, Longo admitted that he hoped to rehabilitate the injured creature and release him back into the forest.