Peanut (squirrel)

American pet (c. 2017 – 2024)

Peanut (c. 2017 – November 1, 2024), also known as P'Nut, was a pet eastern grey squirrel that was the subject of a popular Instagram account. On October 30, 2024, he was seized from his owners' home by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and killed two days later,^[1] which caused a significant public outcry, initially in the United States and later worldwide.

Peanut was an eastern grey squirrel found and saved in 2017 by Mark Longo after his mother was killed by a car in New York City.^[2][3] Longo tried to find a shelter to take Peanut, but was unsuccessful. He fed the squirrel with a bottle for eight months before determining Peanut should go back into the wild.^[4] Longo set the animal free into his backyard, but about a day later, he found Peanut on his porch, missing half of his tail. Longo said he "opened the door, he ran inside, and that was the last of Peanut's wildlife career."^[5] The animal lived under his care for seven years at his hometown in Norwalk, Connecticut.^[3] During this time, Longo created an Instagram account sharing videos of Peanut, including of him eating waffles. By October 2024, the account had amassed 534,000 followers.^[6]

In April 2023, Longo and his wife moved from Norwalk to upstate New York to found the P'Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary.^[3][7] The Longos contribute half of the sanctuary's expenses, most of which was raised through Peanut's social media presence. According to them, the sanctuary had rescued over 300 animals by November 2024.^[2][3]

In October 2024, Peanut was taken, along with a pet raccoon named Fred,^[7] from his owner's home in Pine City, New York, by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, following anonymous complaints. Government officials alleged that after his seizure, Peanut had bitten one of the personnel involved,^[8] and the pets were subsequently killed, which is necessary to test for rabies.^{[6][9][10][11]} Longo said that they were in the process of filing paperwork to have the squirrel certified as an educational animal when Peanut was seized.^[7] He later stated that the decision to kill the squirrel "won't go unheard."^[12]