Peanut, the pet squirrel taken from his adopted home by New York state officials, may be euthanized

A beloved pet squirrel with thousands of adoring fans on social media has been taken away by state officials and could be euthanized, according to its owner.

Peanut, or P'Nut, the squirrel, has over 500,000 followers on Instagram and is a popular mascot of P'Nut's Freedom Farm, a 501c3 animal rescue based in New York State.

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In a post shared on Instagram on Oct. 30, his family said, “There is a special place in hell” for the people who called the New York City Department of Conservation about little Peanut, who is now seven years old.

“The NY State DEC came to my house and took Peanut,” the post reads. “He was euthanized. I am shocked, disbelieving and outraged at the people who did this to PNUT. For the past seven years, Peanut has been my best friend. He was the center of my world and many of yours.” So long, I don’t know how to process it emotionally.

Peanut or P'Nut, the squirrel, has 532,000 followers on Instagram. (peanut_the_squirrel12 via Instagram)

Peanut was discovered by his family, Mark Longo, when he was five weeks old after his mother was hit by an oncoming vehicle. He was then lovingly nursed back to health and did not want to return to the wild after his release.

Since then, Peanut and Mark have charmed the internet with videos about home life, silly antics, and enjoying different meals together. They then expanded to continue working on an animal rescue in Peanut's name.

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“Last year we moved to New York in hopes of starting a NONPROFIT animal rescue in the name of PNUT,” the Instagram post reads. “@pnuts_freedom_farm will forever be remembered by PNUT. With over 350 rescues, we have relied heavily on PNUT and its internet family to raise funds to help more animals. I don’t even know how we can continue to raise funds for this nonprofit.”

In light of recent news of the possible euthanasia of the beloved squirrel by state officials, donations are currently being accepted for P'Nuts Freedom Farm on GoFundMe.

Peanut was rescued from his human adoptive parents at 5 weeks old after his mother was hit by a car. (peanut_the_squirrel12 via Instagram)

“Following multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wild animals that could transmit rabies and the illegal keeping of wild animals as pets, the DEC conducted an investigation,” the New York DEC said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “DEC’s investigation is ongoing and further information will be provided as it becomes available.”

In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Peanuts' adoptive father Mark Longo wrote: “This was a complete shock to not only my family, but to the entire Peanuts community. My wife and I were treated like criminals while multiple officers searched my home.”

Peanut the squirrel enjoys some peanuts in this photo shared on Instagram. (peanut_the_squirrel12 via Instagram)

“I was unable to use the toilet without the police who then INSPECTED my toilet before I used it. However, it was a search warrant signed by a judge to look for a squirrel and a raccoon. “I wasn't even allowed to feed our rescue horses, most of them are neglected horses that have already lost a lot of weight,” Longo continued.

“Something is wrong and I would like answers as to why it took more than 8 DEC officers from Albany to tear my house apart. “My house looks like they were looking for drugs or something, not just two harmless animals,” Longo concluded.

A petition on Change.org to support Peanut's safe return home currently has nearly 20,000 signatures. In New York, it is illegal to keep a wild animal without a license.

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It's unclear whether Peanut has already been euthanized; A video dated October 31 claims that his family did not know this information at the time.