New York authorities remove famous peanut squirrel – NBC New York (47)

NEW YORK – A New York man who turned a rescue squirrel into a social media star named Peanut is asking state authorities to return his beloved pet after it was taken in during an attack a also found a raccoon named Fred.

Several anonymous tips about Peanut, also spelled P’Nut or PNUT, led at least six state Department of Environmental Conservation officials to Mark Longo’s home near the Pennsylvania border in rural Pine City on Wednesday, he said.

“The DEC came to my house and raided my house without a warrant to find a squirrel!” said Longo, who is 34 years old. “They treated me like I was a drug dealer and they were going for drugs and weapons.”

The officials went with Peanut, who gathered hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms during his seven years with Longo. They also brought Fred, a recent addition to the family.

A DEC spokesperson said in a statement that the agency launched the investigation after receiving “numerous reports from the public about potentially dangerous wild animal housing that could transmit rabies and the keeping of wild animals.” illegally as pets.”

Longo, who runs an animal shelter inspired by his squirrel friend called P’Nuts Freedom Animal Animal Sanctuary, took to Instagram to mourn the loss of Peanut.

“Well, Internet, you won,” Longo posted. “You took one of the most wonderful animals from me because of your selfishness. To the group of people identified by the DEC, there is a special place in hell for you. “

Longo fears that Peanut has been betrayed. “I don’t know if Peanut is alive,” he said in a phone interview Thursday. “I don’t know where he is.”

A DEC spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether Peanut was shipped.

Longo said he saw Peanut’s mother hit by a car in New York City seven years ago, leaving the little squirrel an orphan. Longo took Peanut home and cared for him for eight months before attempting to release the squirrel outside. “A day and a half later I found him sitting on my porch with half his tail missing and a bone sticking out,” Longo said.

Longo decided that Peanut didn’t have the survival skills to survive in the wild and that he would stay indoors as a squirrel.

Soon after Longo posted videos of Peanut playing with his cat, Internet fame followed.

A look at Peanut’s Instagram account reveals that this is no ordinary squirrel. Peanut jumps on Longo’s shoulder, wears a small cowboy hat, and eats a waffle while wearing dangling bunny ears.

Over the years, Peanut’s story has appeared on television and in newspapers, including USA Today.

Longo, who works as a mechanical engineer, lived in Norwalk, Connecticut, until he decided to move to New York last year to start an animal sanctuary.

The P’Nuts Freedom Farm animal sanctuary opened in April 2023 and is now home to about 300 animals, including horses, goats and alpacas, said Longo, who co-runs the sanctuary. to his wife, Daniela, and other members of the family.

Longo is aware that it is against New York State law to possess a wild animal without a permit. He said he was in the process of filing paperwork to certify Peanut as an educational animal.

“If we don’t follow the rules, lead us in the right direction to follow the rules, you know,” Longo said. “Tell us what we need to do to keep Peanut in the house and not worry about taking it away.”

As for Fred, Longo said he only had the raccoon for a few months and hoped to rehabilitate the injured creature and return it to the forest.

Longo is not the first animal owner to complain that a pet has been confiscated by New York authorities. A Buffalo-area man whose alligator was imported by the DEC in March is suing the agency to get the 750-pound (340-kilogram) reptile back.