NY man has Instagram-famous pet squirrel Peanut seized by authorities: 'I'm in shock'
@peanut_the_squirrel12 on Instagram has over 535,000 followers. "Just your every day squirrel rescued from the mean streets of NY," his caption reads.
NEW YORK - New York State authorities seized an Instagram-famous squirrel named Peanut from a New York man's home on Wednesday.
Let’s just say they weren’t as nuts 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 Conservation showed up to his door step to find Peanut.
The raid on Longo’s home in rural Pine City, near the Pennsylvania border, was triggered by multiple anonymous complaints regarding Peanut — also referred to as P’Nut or PNUT.
"Well internet, you WON. You took one of the most amazing animals away from me because of your selfishness," he posted on Instagram.
A spokesperson for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said in a statement that the agency started an investigation after receiving "multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets."
Mark Longo, 34, is a mechanical engineer by trade who runs @pnuts_freedom_farm, an animal non non-profit.
Longo, 34, a mechanical engineer by trade, says he moved to New York in 2023 with the ambition of starting a nonprofit animal rescue in Peanut's name, called P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary.
The organization opened in April 2023 and currently cares for around 300 animals, including horses, goats, and alpacas. Longo runs the sanctuary alongside his wife, Daniela, and other family members.
He initially took Peanut in after determining that he lacked the survival skills to live in the wild and would instead need to remain an indoor squirrel.
Based on Peanut’s Instagram account, he's clearly no ordinary squirrel. He jumps onto Longo’s shoulders with precision, wears a trendy cowboy hat, and even eats waffles.
"I don’t even know how I will continue.." he wrote on Instagram.
He claims Peanut was taken to be euthanized.
Although Longo says he's aware that in New York, it's against state law to own a wild animal without a license, he claims he was in the process of filing paperwork to have Peanut certified as an educational animal.
In response, Longo says he's taking a step away from social media, adding, "THANK YOU for breaking apart a family."
Longo says he will set up a fundraiser for those who want to donate in Peanuts' name. "I’ll never give up on this nonprofit or those who fell in love with peanut," he wrote.
As for Fred, Longo admitted that he was hoping to rehabilitate the injured creature and release him back to the woods.