Peanut, the viral squirrel, euthanised by New York authorities; fans pay tribute

“Officers raided my house as if I was a drug dealer. I sat outside my house for five hours. I had to get a police escort to my bathroom. I wasn’t even allowed to feed my rescue horses breakfast or lunch. I sat there like a criminal after they interrogated my wife to check out her immigration status; then proceeded to ask me if I had cameras in my house,” Lango said.

“Then proceeded to go through every cabinet, nook and cranny of my house for a squirrel and raccoon. They got a search warrant for departments, and a judge signed off on a search warrant for a squirrel and a raccoon. And then they took them and killed them,” he said.

Watch here:

NEW: The owner of Peanut the squirrel explains how New York officials raided his house, took Peanut and his raccoon, and k*lled them.

7-year-old Peanut and Fred the raccoon were euthanized after anonymous complaints.

“Officers raided my house as if I was a drug dealer. I was… pic.twitter.com/sSlbandoYO

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 2, 2024

Who was Peanut the viral squirrel?

With over 500K followers, Peanut the Squirrel was an Internet sensation. According to the sanctuary’s official website, Mark Longo rescued Peanut seven years ago. He had lost half of his tail in a severe attack. Longo’s Instagram videos showing Peanut eating treats, jumping on his clothes, playing around his house, and more throughout the day, made Peanut go viral.

Social media pays tribute

Reacting to Peanut’s demise, a user wrote, “This is heart breaking and so wrong! Where are all the animal organizations in outrage?” Another user commented, “I just heard about #PeanutTheSquirrel. He was 7 years old & a pet for 7 years. How could he be considered a wild animal when all he knew was being a pet? You can say that about any animal, then in the State of NY.”