Internet-famous pet squirrel is confiscated

The caretaker of a rescued squirrel that has attracted half a million fans on Instagram says he is fighting to save his beloved pet for a second time after the rodent was seized by New York authorities who wanted to euthanize it. Mark Longo says he rescued the squirrel named Peanut (also spelled P'Nut or PNUT) seven years ago as a boy after his mother was hit and killed by a car. He was “my best friend” and “the center of my world,” Longo wrote on Instagram, adding: “To the group of people who called DEC, there is a special place in hell for you.” He said CNN said officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection showed up at his home in Elmira on Wednesday and took Peanut away.

They had no arrest warrant and treated Longo “as if I were a drug dealer,” the 34-year-old told CNN. The DEC confirmed that officials seized Peanut along with a raccoon named Fred that Longo took in several months ago, according to CNN and the New York Post. The agency said it had received “several reports from the public regarding the potentially unsafe housing of wild animals that could transmit rabies and the illegal keeping of wild animals as pets.” It didn't say what would happen to the animals, but Longo claims authorities intend to euthanize both. On Thursday, he wasn't even sure if Peanut was still alive. More than 25,000 people have signed a petition calling for the squirrel to be returned home.

Longo said he knew it was against state law to keep a wild animal without a license, but he was in the process of getting Peanut certified as an educational animal. “If we don't follow the rules, guide us in the right direction to follow the rules,” he tells CNN. He says he tried to release Peanut back into the wild after several months of care, but the squirrel returned with an injury. At this point, he concluded that the rodent lacked the skills to survive on its own. He moved from Connecticut to New York last year to open an animal rescue, P'Nuts Freedom Farm, which now cares for 350 animals. Because “we relied heavily on PNUT and its Internet family for donations,” the future of the rescue is now in limbo, he says post. (More New York stories.)