A man who took in an orphaned squirrel and made it a social media star vowed Saturday that New York state’s decision to seize and euthanize the animal “won’t go unheard.”

Peanut the Squirrel's owner, Mark Longo, shares a tearful message on Instagram, after his pet squirrel and raccoon were euthanized by authorities. The internet-famous wildlife animals were confiscated by Department of Environmental Conservation officials,

Republican lawmakers have condemned the decision by state officials to kill the squirrel as unnaceptable government overreach.