Magpie Who Bonded With Dog Is Seized

A magpie taken in as a chick stole the hearts of millions of people around the world who were warmed by the bird's unlikely friendship with its Aussie caretakers' bull terrier. But caretakers Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen say their hearts have been torn apart in having to surrender Molly the magpie to Queensland's Department of Environment, Science, and Innovation (DESI) after four years of care. The couple announced the move in a video posted Tuesday, saying a small group of people had "constantly" complained about the living arrangement, per CNN. A DESI rep said the magpie, a protected species in Australia, had been "illegally" taken from the wild and held with "no permit, license, or authority."

DESI views magpies as undomesticated birds who should only be housed temporarily for rehabilitation. "Animals in rehabilitation must not associate with domestic animals" due to risks of stress, disease, and behavioral imprinting, the department adds, per CNN. "We are asking why a wild magpie can't decide for himself where he wants to live and who he wants to spend his time with," say Wells and Mortensen, who found Molly abandoned in a local park. They say they nurtured the bird, hoping "to get him back out into the wild." But Molly bonded with bull terrier Peggy and didn't leave. During the pandemic, the couple began sharing photos and videos of the unlikely friends and drew nearly 2 million followers on social media.

In their current plight, they're backed by a group of 77,000 and growing, some bird experts, and Queensland Premier Steven Miles. "If you look at the story, there is a better outcome possible," Miles said Thursday, per the BBC. "I think sometimes common sense needs to prevail." DESI, which is hoping not to encourage others to follow the couple's lead, said that its "number one priority is the ongoing welfare of the magpie," who's "undergoing rehabilitation" but is too habituated to human contact to be released into the wild, per CNN. But if the department were really interested in Molly's welfare, it would return the bird to its family, says Griffith University behavioral ecologist Darryl Jones. Though the magpie should never have been taken from the wild, Molly "now thinks it belongs to that family," Jones tells CNN. (More Australia stories.)