Social media star Peanut the Squirrel seized by authorities in New York

State authorities have removed a beloved squirrel who has thousands of online followers from his New York home.

Peanut, whose name is also spelled P’Nut or PNUT, was seized by officers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, according to a police spokesman. statement its owner, Mark Longo, posted this on Peanut’s official Instagram account on Wednesday, October 30.

“Today at 10am, Wednesday October 30, 2024…The NY State DEC came to my house and took Peanut away. He was taken to the EUTHANISED. I am in shock, disbelief and disgust at the people who did this, PNUT ,” the statement read.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the DEC said it conducted an investigation following “multiple reports from the public regarding the potentially unsafe housing of wild animals that can transmit rabies and the illegal keeping of wild animals as pets.”

The statement added that “the DEC’s investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”

According to the Associated pressIn addition to Peanut, the DEC also seized an injured raccoon named Fred, which Longo had for a few months and hoped to release back into the woods.

Peanut has thousands of views across all his social accounts, with 533,000 followers Instagram and 423,000 followers Facebook.

According to the Associated Press, Longo took Peanut into his home seven years ago after watching his mother get hit by a car. Their bond inspired him to create the P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary in April 2023.

“For the past seven years, Peanut has been my best friend. He has been the center of my world and many of yours for so long, I don’t know how to emotionally process this,” Longo wrote in his Instagram statement on Wednesday. .

On Thursday, October 31, he provided an update on Peanut’s Instagram Stories, writing, “I still haven’t heard from New York State. I don’t know where Peanut is or if he’s still with us.”

“I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support you have given me and my wife. This is an absolute tragedy and I pray we still have a chance,” he shared in another post. Instagram post same day.

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Longo has created a Change.org petition and a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to “cover the legal costs for attorneys who will help us address the damage caused and ensure Peanut’s return to his loving home.”