Peanut the Squirrel was an internet sensation, captivating hundreds of thousands of internet users followers with videos of his charming antics with his owner, Mark Longo. That changed last Wednesday, when the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) raided Longo’s home, seizing Peanut and another pet, a raccoon named Fred. The two animals were euthanized shortly after. Longo claims DEC informed the media of the animal’s death before telling P’nuts Freedom Farm—Longo’s nonprofit animal sanctuary named after Peanut.

“Despite our impassioned cry for compassion, the agency chose to ignore our pleas, leaving us in deep shock and grief,” Longo. he wrote on Instagram. “To add to our anguish, they informed the media of their decision even before announcing P’nuts Freedom Farm, his loving home. This demonstrates a disturbing lack of respect and empathy. Their lives were precious and we refuse to accept this loss in silence.”

A DEC spokesperson said The Associated Press said they seized the animals after receiving “several reports from the public of potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that may carry rabies and illegal keeping of wild animals as pets.”

“Two days ago, ten to fifteen DEC officers searched my house for a raccoon and a squirrel,” Longo said NewsNationit’s Chris Cuomo on Friday. “We used resources in this state to kill a squirrel and a raccoon and raid my house like I was a drug dealer. We have the resources to kill a squirrel and a raccoon, but we can’t fix major bridges on the street?”

Longo added, “Since they left my house, not one DEC employee or state official has called me to tell me what happened. They broke into my house, they even asked my wife for her immigration status… They spent five hours tearing my house apart for a squirrel and a raccoon.”

According to ABC, the DEC says the animals were euthanized to test for rabies after Peanut bit someone involved in the investigation. Longo denied these claims. “Everybody here wore gloves,” Longo told Cuomo. “These are professionals who deal with animals every day and you’re going to tell me you got bitten by a squirrel? None of that happened.”

Almost immediately after the raid, there was intense online backlash against DEC’s actions.

“Normally I’d make memes about topical stuff like this but this legit pisses me off,” one X states post with over 28 million impressions. “A taxpayer-funded agency raiding a man’s house to kill his pets is just plain evil.”

“The squirrel isn’t just a squirrel,” says another X post, This with 1.9 million impressions as of Monday afternoon. “Peanut is for everyone who has ever feared that someone more powerful than you could walk into your home and take something you absolutely value from you, for no good reason, with no recourse.”