A squirrel named P’Nut who found social media fame was recently seized an euthanized by New York state officials last week. The animal had amassed more than a million followers across platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where his owner, Mark Longo, shared videos of the squirrel’s daily antics.
“They just took my best friend for the last seven years,” Longo told TMZ. “The firefight has just begun. This needs to be used as an example of how this state uses their resources and their power.”
Longo had raised P’Nut since rescuing the animal after its mother was hit by a car in a busy downtown Manhattan street.
Longo said attempts to release P’Nut into the wild were unsuccessful due to repeated attacks from other animals. That led to Longo keeping the squirrel in his home, where he filmed P’Nut’s daily activities and shared them online.
The squirrel was put down following a raid by New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). According to Longo, the DEC carried this out with a full search warrant. Officers seized both P’Nut and a pet raccoon named Fred, which was also euthanized.
“They got a search warrant, signed off on a squirrel and a raccoon, and then they took them and killed them,” Longo said. “DEC officers raided my house as if I was a drug dealer. I was sat outside my house for five hours. I had to get a police escort to my bathroom.”
The agency claimed the raid was prompted by concerns voiced to them by other citizens. They claimed P’Nut was ultimately euthanized in order to test the animal for rabies after it allegedly bit one of the state officials involved in the raid.
“Following multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets, DEC conducted an investigation,” the agency said in a statement. “DEC’s investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”
However, despite the statement, Longo said he doesn’t believe this to be the true reason P’nut was taken from his home. He alleges that officials targeted him due to his and his wife’s involvement in adult content on OnlyFans.
They believe this was the case since no citation or other violation of law has been issued since the raid was carried out.
“I think there’s an ulterior motive here, and it seems it has to do with my spicy social media presence,” Longo said. “Especially since other than taking the animals, they took no action against me.”
Revenue from the animal’s social media helped fund P’Nut’s Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. The sanctuary is a nonprofit animal rescue organization Longo founded.
He described P’Nut as the “cornerstone” of the organization. Longo also expressing uncertainty over how the sanctuary will continue without the funding generated from P’Nut’s online presence. He did confirm that potential legal action may follow.
“You just put the entire organization in jeopardy,” Longo said. “You came to a case that had animals in good possession, and you took them and killed them. I don’t know how we’re going to fund this organization anymore without P’Nut’s social media. I haven’t a clue.”
