An Australian magpie has been returned to a Queensland couple after an intense debate that gripped the nation.
Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen were granted a special licence to care for the magpie, dubbed Molly, who was held by wildlife authorities for six weeks. Molly shot to fame via the couple's Instagram account, which documented its relationship with their pet dog, Peggy.
The licence comes with strict conditions barring the couple from profiting from the bird In their first Instagram post since Molly's return, Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen said they were “overwhelmed with emotion”.
There was, they say, a “little cry of happiness” from the magpie when it was released. Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen rescued Molly when it was a chick in 2020.
The couple amassed more than 800,000 followers with an Instagram page, which features whimsical pictures and videos of the magpie interacting with their Staffordshire terrier. But questions were raised about the ethics of keeping an Australian magpie as a domestic pet.
Earlier this year, the Department for Environment, Science and Innovation (Desi) said the magpie had been “taken from the wild unlawfully with no permit, licence or authority”. In an emotional video, the couple announced they had “surrendered” Molly to the authorities on 1 March, because of a “small group of people constantly complaining” about the animal being in their care.
“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?” the couple said in a post online.
This turn of events sparked mass public outcry in Australia, with more than 150,000 people signing a petition to secure Molly's return. The uproar led Queensland premier Steven Miles to intervene.
He said returning Molly to the couple would be a victory for “common sense” and urged the authorities to grant the appropriate licence. After seeking expert veterinary advice, Desi found that Molly was “highly habituated”, meaning the bird could never be returned to the wild.
The department says it returned Molly to the couple's care following “extensive legal advice”. Speaking on Molly's return, Mr Miles said: “Molly has received excellent care during this time, and I'm told has been in great spirits throughout.
“I know how strongly people have felt about this – thank you again to everyone who has been in touch about it.” Though Molly is back at home, Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen must adhere to strict conditions in order to keep their wildlife carers' licence.
Those conditions require the couple to undertake training, provide evidence of Molly's well-being and make “no ongoing commercial gain” from the magpie. This last point might prove the trickiest. Ms Wells has already released a book about Peggy and Molly via Penguin Books Australia, and the couple have sold calendars and T-shirts featuring images of the duo.
A post promoting the book – Peggy & Molly: Be Kind, Be Humble, Be Happy – remains pinned at the top of the duo's Instagram page. Before Molly's return, Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen told Australia's ABC News that they had profited from Molly, though they suggested they had not made very much.
“My intention was not to make money,” Ms Wells said. “It's not about that.”
“We can't make a living on the money that's been made – definitely not,” Mr Mortensen added.bProf Gisela Kaplan of the University of New England told ABC News people should not raise birds without specialist knowledge, and that she hopes Peggy and Molly's situation is a “one-off”.
Australian magpies – which can live up to 30 years – are a protected native species and are considered vital to the nation's ecosystem. They are named after their resemblance to the Eurasian magpie, to which they are not actually closely related.
