State authorities took a beloved squirrel who has thousands of followers online to his New York home.

Peanut, whose name is also spelled P’Nut or PNUT, was seized by agents with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, according to a report. statement its owner, Mark Longo, posted on the official Peanut Instagram account on Wednesday, October 30.

“Today at 10 a.m. Wednesday October 30, 2024…New York State DEC showed up at my house and took Peanut away. He was taken to EUTHANIZED. I am in shock, incredulous and disgusted by the people who did this to, PNUT,’ the statement read.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the DEC said it conducted an investigation following “several reports from the public about the potentially dangerous housing of wild animals that could transmit rabies and the illegal keeping of wild animals as pets.” company”.

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

According to the Associated PressIn addition to Peanut, the DEC also seized an injured raccoon named Fred, which Longo had had for a few months and hoped to release into the woods.

Peanut has thousands of views across all of his social accounts, 533,000 followers on Instagram and 423,000 subscribers on Facebook.

According to the Associated Press, Longo took Peanut seven years ago after seeing his mother get hit by a car. Their bond is what inspired him to start the P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary in April 2023.

“For the past 7 years, Peanut has been my best friend. He has been the center of my world and many of yours for so long, I don’t know how to deal with this emotionally,” Longo wrote in his Instagram statement Wednesday. .

On Thursday, October 31, he provided an update on Peanut’s Instagram Stories that read, “I still haven’t heard from New York State. I don’t know where Peanut is or if he is always with us.”

“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 said. he shared in another Instagram post the same day.

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Longo has created a Change.org petition and a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help “cover the legal fees of the attorneys who will help us repair the damage caused and ensure Peanut’s return to his loving home.”