Animal lovers across the globe are reeling from a display of government overreach that resulted in the deaths of a beloved squirrel and a recently-rescued raccoon. Peanut, aka P’Nut the squirrel, was a beloved social media star who resided with Mark Longo, the man who saved his life after the baby squirrel’s mom was struck and killed by a car seven years ago. And Fred the raccoon was taken under Longo’s wing after being dropped off at Longo’s Pine Hurst residence four months ago.

On October 30, officials with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation raided Longo’s home with a show of force involving nearly a dozen agents who had one goal – seize Fred the raccoon and Peanut the squirrel. The officials were at Longo’s residence for hours.

In the midst of the raid, DEC officials claim Peanut bit one of the agents. The alleged bite prompted the agency to kill Fred and Peanut in order to test them for rabies rather than quarantining them. The agency killed Peanut, a domesticated squirrel who had lived indoors with his family, even though a squirrel has never been known to transmit rabies to a human.

Animal lovers across the world are angry. News of the killings has sparked an uproar on social media, where Peanut had amassed hundreds of thousands of fans. A Change.org petition has been started requesting the officials to blame are held accountable.