Originally appeared on E! On-line

A viral squirrel named peanut is in a bit of a bind.

The online sensation, who has an audience of over 536,000 Instagram followers and more than 424,000 followers on Facebook, was seized on October 30 by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), its owner Mark Longo said on social media.

“The NY State DEC came to my house and took Peanut,” he wrote on Instagram. “He was put to sleep.”

“Peanut has been my best friend for seven years,” Longo continued. “He’s been the center of my world and many of yours for so long, I don’t know how to process it emotionally.”

The animal has built a following online over the years with amusing videos of it performing tricks, modeling miniature fashions and eating waffles, among other things.

A DEC spokesperson said this Associated Press They began investigating the situation after “several 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.”

“It was a terrible nightmare for me,” he told the AP in a telephone interview: “But we still have 300 animals to take care of.”

Longo – who started a GoFundMe page to fund his legal battle to recapture Peanut – also said he knew owning a wild animal without a license was against New York state law, but said he was in the process of Obtain papers to certify pet as a “learning animal”.

“If we don't follow the rules, guide us in the right direction to follow the rules, you know?” he said. “Let us know what we need to do to keep Peanut in the house and not have to worry about him being kidnapped.”

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However, the DEC did not confirm whether Peanut was euthanized.

Officers also seized a raccoon named Fredaccording to the news agency. Longo, who runs a wildlife refuge called P'Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, said Fred was injured and will be released back into the wild after rehabilitation.

“It was a terrible nightmare for me,” he told the AP in a telephone interview: “But we still have 300 animals to take care of.”

Longo – who started a GoFundMe page to fund his legal battle to recapture Peanut – also said he knew owning a wild animal without a license was against New York state law, but said he was in the process of Obtain papers to certify pet as a “learning animal”.

“If we don't follow the rules, guide us in the right direction to follow the rules, you know?” he said. “Let us know what we need to do to keep Peanut in the house and not have to worry about him being kidnapped.”

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