Instagram-famous Peanut the squirrel and Fred the raccoon were euthanized

Originally appeared on E! On-line

Fans say goodbye peanut the squirrel and Fred the raccoon.

Two days after the owner of the animal Mark Longosaid they were seized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the agency confirmed to NBC News that the animals had been euthanized to test for rabies.

The animals were captured on Oct. 30 after DEC officials learned that they “shared residence with humans, posing a risk of human exposure to rabies,” the agency said in a joint statement with the county Department of Health Chemung with. The statement also said that Peanut bit one of the officers involved in the investigation.

The DEC began investigating the animals' living conditions after receiving “multiple 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,” the agency said in a statement told Associated Press.

Longo, who runs a wildlife sanctuary called P'Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, tearfully responded to the news on social media along with his wife. Dani.

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“It is with deep sadness that we share the heartbreaking news,” they wrote on Peanut’s Instagram page on November 1st. “Despite our impassioned cries for compassion, the agency ignored our pleas and left us in deep shock and grief…Your lives were precious, and we refuse to accept this loss in silence.”

He added in a video: “Peanut was the best thing that ever happened to us.”

Longo has been caring for Peanut for seven years, ever since he said he saw the squirrel's mother get hit by a car. Over the years, the duo regularly posted video content online, reaching a social media audience that included over 536,000 followers Instagram and an additional 424,000 followers Facebook.

Although Longo told the AP he knew owning a wild animal without a license was illegal in New York, he said he was in the process of processing paperwork to certify Peanut as a “learning animal.”

As for Fred, Longo insisted he simply wanted to rehabilitate the raccoon after an injury and planned to release the nocturnal mammal back into the wild, the outlet reported.

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