Officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation confiscated Peanut the Squirrel during a raid Wednesday.
Mark Longo first spotted the squirrel in lower Manhattan. The animal's mother had been hit by a car, and it was alone.
At that moment, Longo made a decision that would change the course of his life: He picked up the baby squirrel, took it to his Connecticut home and named the animal Peanut. Seven years later, Peanut is an Instagram star, a beloved companion and the centerpiece of an animal rescue organization based in Pine City, a hamlet near Elmira in Chemung County.
Suddenly, though, he's also at the center of a controversy. That's because state Department of Environmental Conservation officers on Wednesday raided the home Longo shares with his wife and confiscated Peanut, sometimes known as P'Nut, and a raccoon named Fred.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Longo, a 34-year-old OnlyFans model, says roughly a dozen officers participated in the 10 a.m. raid, which lasted about five hours and left his house turned upside down. The officers, Longo said, asked his German wife about her immigration status, demanded to know if there were cameras in the........