Fans of an Instagram-famous magpie are campaigning for Australian wildlife authorities to reunite him together with his greatest buddy Peggy, an English Staffordshire terrier, after the animals’ homeowners say they have been pressured to give up the wild chook.
Molly the magpie was rescued as a chick by Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen, a pair from Queensland who now run the “Peggy and Molly” social media pages. The couple’s movies doc the magpie and Staffie enjoying and sleeping collectively, and one recent video even confirmed Molly imitating the sound of a canine barking.
But in an emotional video posted to Instagram, the couple revealed they “had to surrender Molly.”
Wells mentioned that “a small group of people” had been “constantly complaining” about Molly to the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (Desi). In Queensland, a license is required in most cases to keep an exotic or native bird.
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On June 13, Desi officers arrived on the couple’s door “wanting us to surrender Molly,” Wells mentioned. “We refused, as he was thriving in the trees surrounding our property.”
Mortensen mentioned he tried to acquire a wildlife license however, “after a period of time I had to retract my application as it was a bit of a conflict to our page,” he mentioned with out elaborating on what the battle was.
“We did everything in our power to work with the department,” he mentioned.
After many months, Molly was surrendered on March 1.
The couple mentioned they have been “devastated” and that the state of affairs has been laborious on their two dogs, Peggy, and her daughter Ruby, as they’ve “lost their best friend.”
They inspired their followers to put in writing emails to their native MP and to the Desi workplace, pushing for an investigation into the Desi officer’s dealing with of Molly’s give up.
Fans of the inter-species besties shortly took to Change.org to signal a petition to “Reunite Peggy and Molly,” which has garnered over 77,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.
In the outline of the petition, organizer Sarah Rielly writes that Peggy and Molly “share an unbreakable bond.”
“This bond is not just emotional but also crucial to their well-being,” she writes, arguing that separating them might “lead to stress, anxiety, and even depression.”
It’s unclear if Peggy and Molly are bonded animals however social media movies of the pair interacting counsel they’ve a robust connection.
The state of affairs has drummed up a substantial quantity of press protection in Australia and overseas. So a lot in order that it landed on the radar of Queensland’s premier Steven Miles.
The provincial chief known as for Molly to be reunited together with her household, and urged wildlife officers to work with the couple to allow them to get their correct license.
“I know our environment department, I used to be their minister. I know they take their responsibilities under the law very seriously. But I think in these circumstances, there’s room for some flexibility. I just urge them to work with Molly’s carers to get the necessary wildlife carer training so that she can get back home.”
The premier has no authorized energy to order Molly’s return, nonetheless, that call have to be made by Desi.
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