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A magpie bird reunites with dog best friend, forty five days after being seized by wildlife officials in Queensland, Australia.
Molly the Magpie became a social media sensation after befriending a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Peggy. Together, they share social media accounts named “Peggy & Molly” with over 2 million followers combined.
Through their joint social media account, Internet users were able to see the odd yet beautiful friendship that both animals shared for the past four years.
However, this all came to a halt on March 26 when Peggy’s owners posted a video announcing that they have surrendered Molly to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI).
In the video, Wells explained, “We had to surrender Molly to the DES – Department of Science and Innovation – as we had a small group of people constantly complaining to them.”
A spokesperson for DESI said in a statement that the bird has been “illegally” taken from the wild and is being kept with “no permit, license or authority”.
The spokesperson added, “Animals in rehabilitation must not associate with domestic animals due to the potential for them to be subjected to stress and the risks of behavioral imprinting and transmission of diseases.”
However, fans of the animal duo were not happy with this. One user wrote, “Who complains about a perfectly happy wild animal that has domesticated itself!”
While another said, “Heartbreaking 💔 This is a classic example of bureaucracy over common sense and humanity. Our tax-payer funded departments should be using their resources to help out the community and save mis-treated wildlife, not harm them!!”
The dog and bird’s separation was the talk of the town. And people even started a petition to reunite them that garnered over 155,000 signatures.
However, on April 15, DESI released a statement saying they have returned Molly to her family and has approved a specialized license to the family.
“Independent expert veterinary advice has shown that Molly, who was surrendered to the department on 1 March, is highly habituated and may have developmental issues, meaning it can never be rehabilitated or returned to the wild,” DESI’s statement read.
Peggy and Molly’s owner shared the good news on social media and said, “It was a very exciting reunion at the Dept this morning for us with a little cry of happiness from Molly.”
The couple also shared a glimpse of Molly’s first 24 hours back home with the family. The video’s caption read, “Molly has had a few baths and played with his faithful sloth toys with Peggy and Ruby never too far away.“
In 2021, Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen, Peggy’s owners, revealed to 7News that they rescued Molly when she fell from a nest in a tree as a baby.
Wells said, “Reece knelt down to see if the bird was OK, and she ran up his arm and rested on his shoulder.”
The couple nursed the bird back to health and took care of the Magpie. And from there, Molly and Peggy’s friendship blossomed.
