Molly the magpie seized by animal welfare ... after bonding with pet dog
A decision to confiscate a pet magpie which formed an unlikely bond with a Staffordshire bull terrier has caused uproar in Australia, with tens of thousands of people lobbying for the bird to be returned.
Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen, from Queensland, found the magpie as a chick in a local park four years ago and, worried that it would not survive, brought the bird home.
They named it Molly and as it grew up, it formed a strong bond with the couple’s bull terrier, Peggy.
For social media, it was a match made in heaven. Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen posted photos showing Peggy and Molly lying on the carpet together, playing in a park and appearing to be the best of friends.
The pair have nearly two million followers on Instagram and Facebook. Ms Wells eventually wrote a book called Peggy & Molly: Be Kind, Be Humble, Be Happy.
But animal welfare experts objected strongly to the arrangement, saying that it was illegal to take a bird from the wild without permission.
Molly was confiscated by officials from Queensland’s environment department earlier this week.
In an emotional video that they posted online, Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen said they had been forced to surrender their beloved bird. A “small group of people” had vociferously complained about Molly living with them as a pet.
The confiscation of Molly has provoked a furore, with more than 70,000 people signing a petition calling for it to be returned to its human carers and Peggy the dog. “This is a classic example of bureaucracy over common sense and humanity,” one person wrote on Instagram.
It has even dragged in politicians. Steven Miles, the premier of Queensland, supports the calls for Molly to be reunited with Peggy.
“I think sometimes common sense needs to prevail. If you look at the story, there is a better outcome possible,” he said on Thursday.
Queensland’s environment department insisted that magpies should not be removed from the wild and turned into pets.
The bird had been “taken from the wild and kept unlawfully with no permit, licence or authority”, said the department.
The authorities admitted that Molly cannot be released into the wild because it is so habituated to human contact.
Instead, the bird will be placed in a “suitable facility”. But that could be for a long time, given that magpies can live for up to 30 years.
Darryl Jones, a bird expert from Griffith University, said the only option now was for the bird to be returned to its human guardians.
“That animal now thinks it belongs to that family. It should go back to the people,” he told CNN.
“The authorities could say on reflection, with the welfare of the individual magpie in mind, we have decided that the best thing to do for that magpie is to return it to the family,” he said.
Magpies are common in Australia and are notorious for swooping down on people and pecking their heads when they become highly territorial during breeding season.
