Magpie Molly and her best Staffordshire Terrier friends Peggy and Ruby could be separated again just months after their reunion.
A wildlife volunteer and magpie keeping specialist is challenging the Queensland Government’s decision to grant the family a licence to keep Molly.
In March, Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen were forced to surrender the male bird after authorities discovered the couple did not have a permit to care for native wildlife.
The decision ultimately led to a successful public campaign to reverse the decision, allowing the family to keep the bird and reunite Molly with her canine friends in April.
The family is upset about the new legal challenge to remove Molly from their home again.
“Molly is 100 percent, and always has been, our focus. We just want to keep going and just keep going,” Mr. Mortensen said. A current case.
“When we came across a little magpie four years ago yesterday, no one would have thought we would now be standing in front of the High Court in Brisbane,” Wells said.
‘Molly is happy, healthy and alive. Bossy, barking and being Molly.’
Molly the Magpie and her Staffordshire Terrier best friends Peggy and Ruby could be separated again, just months after they were reunited
A wildlife support volunteer and magpie behaviour specialist is challenging the Queensland Government’s decision to grant the family a permit to keep Molly
“Every time we make public appearances and things like that, we create awareness among people to go out and do something for nature and get involved,” Mr Mortensen added.
‘That’s what we want to do: get as many people involved in helping wildlife as possible, because there aren’t many wildlife caretakers.’
The applicant for Molly’s new removal is not named in court documents. The couple is frustrated because they don’t know who is behind it.
In July, it was announced that the unlikely friendship between Molly and Peggy would be adapted into an animated series.
Also featured are Ruby, Peggy’s daughter, and several other characters, including Sarg, a Jack Russell terrier.
Sarg is described as a “government official” who tries to thwart Peggy and Molly’s adventures.
The Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) gave the family permission to keep Molly, but under strict conditions, including no further commercial profit from the bird or its image.
However, Wells stressed that the animation did not violate these rules, as it was not the real Molly, but merely an artistic representation.
“We have an expert legal team and they have assured us that we are fully compliant,” Wells told the program.
In July, it was announced that the unlikely friendship between Molly and Peggy would be turned into an animated series
Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen were forced to surrender the male bird after authorities discovered the couple did not have a permit to care for native wildlife
‘No real animals are used in this animation, apart from some artistic expression.’
The couple previously said they rescued Molly as a chick after he fell from his nest in 2020.
Mrs. Wells originally thought Molly was a female, but it turned out to be a male. The name stuck.
Videos of Molly playing with the couple’s two Staffordshire dogs quickly gained a large online fan base.