Peanut the Squirrel owner provides update after New York authorities seize animal

• On October 30, Mark Longo, the owner of social media star Peanut the squirrel, announced that the animal had been confiscated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
• Since the seizure, a fundraiser for Peanut has raised over $7,000 to cover legal costs fighting to return the animal to Longo
• Longo shared an update on the situation with Peanut's more than 500,000 Instagram followers on November 1

The owner of popular squirrel influencer Peanut has provided an update on the social media star after state authorities seized the animal in New York.

Peanut, who has 535,000 followers on Instagram and 423,000 on Facebook, was seized by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officials, according to a statement from the squirrel's owner, Mark Longo, on Peanut's official Instagram account on Wednesday, April 13. October, shows. 30.

In a follow-up post shared on Friday, November 1, Longo thanked the fans of Peanut, whose name is also spelled P'Nut or PNUT, for their support and said there was a “slim chance” that he gets his pet back.

“I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming together,” Longo began in the video. “I haven't received an update on Peanut. We are still in the same waiting phase.”

Longo then continued, “But while we wait, we still need to focus on our nonprofit animal rescue, so I can't thank you all enough for the love and support.” It was a terrible nightmare for me, but we still have 300 animals to look after. So if you can continue to sign the petition and donate when you can, it really means a lot to us.”

“Thank you for standing by us and my family. We love you all, please spread the word and let’s get Peanut back,” he concluded.

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“We can't thank you all enough for the overwhelming support,” Longo captioned the video. “There is a small chance we can bring him back home, so please continue to sign the petition (LINK IN BIO) ❤️ I will keep everyone updated. We LOVE you all.”

Longo's update comes a day after he said he didn't know whether Peanut was “alive or not” in a video posted Oct. 31.

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

In his Oct. 30 post revealing that Peanut had been kidnapped from his home, Longo said he was “shocked, disbelieving and disgusted by the people who did this to PNUT.”

“Today, Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at 10 a.m.… the New York State DEC came to my house and took Peanut. He was taken to the euthanasia cell,” he said in the statement, calling Peanut his “best friend.” the last seven years.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the DEC said it conducted an investigation after “multiple 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.”

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

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According to the Associated Press, in addition to Peanut, the DEC seized an injured raccoon named Fred. Longo had had the animal for a few months and was hoping to release it back into the wild.

According to the outlet, Longo took in Peanut after seeing the rodent's mother get hit by a car, and their bond inspired him to start the P'Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary in April 2023.

Since Peanut was seized, Longo helped create a Change.org petition and a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to “cover legal fees for lawyers to help us repair the damage caused and ensure Peanut's return to health.” will ensure a loving home.”

At the time of publication, the fundraiser had raised over $7,000 of the $15,000 goal.