TO dear pet squirrel with thousands of admirers on social media has been removed by state officials and could be euthanized, according to its owner.

Peanut or P’Nut the squirrel has over 500,000 followers on Instagram and is a beloved pet of P’Nut’s Freedom Farm, a 501c3 animal rescue based in New York State.

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In a post shared on Instagram on October 30, his family shared that “there is a special place in hell” for the people who called the New York Department of Conservation about little Peanut, who is now seven years old.

“He New York State DEC showed up at my house and took Peanut,” the post reads. “They took him to EUTANIZED. I am shocked, in disbelief and disgusted with the people who did this to PNUT. For the past 7 years, Peanut has been my best friend. “He has been the center of my world and many of yours for so long that I don’t know how to process this emotionally.”

Peanut or P’Nut the squirrel has 532,000 followers on Instagram. (peanut_the_squirrel12 via Instagram)

Peanut was discovered by his family, Mark Longo, when he was five weeks old after his mother was hit by an oncoming vehicle. He was then lovingly nursed back to health and would not return to the wild when released.

In the years since, Peanut and Mark have captivated the Internet with videos of domestic life, silly antics, and enjoying various meals together. They then expanded to continue working at an animal rescue on Peanut’s behalf.

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“Last year we moved to New York in hopes of starting a NON-PROFIT animal rescue on behalf of PNUT,” the Instagram post reads. “@pnuts_freedom_farm will forever live in PNUT’s memory. With over 350 rescues, we have relied heavily on PNUT and their internet family to collect donations to help more animals. I don’t even know how we will continue to raise funds for this organization without for profit”.

Donations are currently being accepted on GoFundMe for P’Nut’s Freedom Farm in light of the recent news of the beloved squirrel’s possible euthanasia at the hands of state officials.

Peanut was rescued at 5 weeks old by his adoptive human parents after his mother was hit by a car. (peanut_the_squirrel12 via Instagram)

“Following multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could transmit rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets, DEC conducted an investigation,” reads a statement shared by the New York DEC to FoxNewsDigital. “DEC’s investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”

TO petition on Change.org in support of Peanut’s safe return home currently has just under 20,000 signatures. In New York it is illegal to own a wild animal without a license.

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It’s unclear if Peanut has been euthanized yet; A video from October 31 states that his family does not know this information at this time.