The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation euthanized Peanut, a social media star pet squirrel, following a home raid Wednesday, the New York Post reported.
Mark Longo, who runs the popular Instagram account @peanut_the_squirrel12, said he was treated like a “terrorist” when 10 government agents entered his Penn City home in a five-hour raid, the New York Post reported. Ultimately, New York officials ended the lives of Peanut and Longo’s other pet, a raccoon named Fred, after Peanut sparked rabies concerns when he reportedly bit an official during the raid.
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
“They treated me like I was a terrorist. They treated this raid as if I was a drug dealer. They ransacked my house for five hours,” Longo, 34, told the outlet Saturday.
“They asked my wife, who is of German descent, what her immigration status was. They asked if I had cameras in my house,” he continued. “They wouldn’t allow me to go to the bathroom without a police escort, who then checked the back of the toilet to see if I was hiding anything there.”
I feel so sorry for this guy. The government came and took his squirrel “Peanut”, which he’s owned for 7 years, and another pet raccoon and euthanized them both, for no apparent reason.
“Peanut” was the mascot for his animal non-profit and had a social media following of over a… pic.twitter.com/5EfoOKqelE
— 🇺🇸↪️aptain Ⓜ️organ🇺🇸 (@CaptainMorganTN) November 2, 2024
Longo adopted the squirrel seven years ago after the animal’s mother was hit by a car, the outlet reported. Longo reportedly cared for Peanut during eight months of rehab and unsuccessfully tried to release the squirrel back into the wild until deciding to keep him and start his social media pages on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. (RELATED: Squirrel Leaves Hundreds Of Nuts For Unsuspecting Man)
“We rehabbed him for eight months, we released him for a day and a half, but he ended up getting attacked. He never developed the instincts to survive outside,” Longo said to the New York Post.
On Saturday, Longo posted an AI-generated image of his unconventional pets with halos above their heads which linked to a fundraiser with a $250,000 goal. The fundraiser, “Call for Justice for Pnut and NYSDEC Reform,” accumulated more than $79,000 from 2,450 donations as of Sunday morning.
“Well Internet, you WON. You took one of the most amazing animals away from me because of your selfishness,” Longo wrote on the fundraiser. “The group of people who called DEC, there’s a special place in Hell for you.”
Social media users — including billionaire Elon Musk and a number of elected officials — blasted the government’s killing of Longo’s pet squirrel. Users slammed New York’s government for going after a man’s pets instead of combatting other issues in the state.
“Justice for Peanut,” the official House Judiciary GOP account wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Justice for Peanut.
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) November 2, 2024
“The state of New York broke into an innocent American’s house, stole his pet squirrel, Peanut, and then killed it. It’s a shame Peanut wasn’t an illegal alien, because he would have been welcomed in just like the illegal alien thugs who murder Americans every day!” Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X. “Democrat-ran regimes want to control every aspect of your life and destroy it.”
The state of New York broke into an innocent American’s house, stole his pet squirrel, Peanut, and then killed it.
It’s a shame Peanut wasn’t an illegal alien, because he would have been welcomed in just like the illegal alien thugs who murder Americans every day!
Democrat-ran… pic.twitter.com/RZeviNEFVX
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 2, 2024
Americans after the government f*cks them for decades: 🦗🦗🦗
Americans after the government kills Peanut the squirrel: pic.twitter.com/ZROmNCmCeG
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) November 2, 2024
Billionaire Elon Musk chimed in, saying it is “actually true” that Democrats, the “soft-on-crime party,” cares more about euthanizing squirrels than arresting burglars and drug dealers.
Actually true.
Worth noting that criminals vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, because they are the soft-on-crime party.
The Democratic Party is literally the party of criminals! Just a statement of fact. https://t.co/NHAJrzQrh6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2024
“Trump will win in a landslide if he gets on stage and says he will average Peanut the squirrel,” journalist Ashley St. Clair added.
Can we please not forget FRED the Raccoon he was also killed like Peanut the Squirrel 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/lKpZIuP3Ox
— paula wilson (@pwilsondtf) November 2, 2024
Trump will win in a landslide if he gets on stage and says he will avenge Peanut the squirrel pic.twitter.com/HOyZmtMQ7f
— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) November 2, 2024
Rest in peace, Peanut the Squirrel ❤
— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) November 2, 2024
“Rest in peace, Peanut the Squirrel,” podcaster Alex Friedman wrote.