Forty-five days after being seized by Queensland wildlife authorities, Molly the magpie has been returned to the home where he became a social media sensation for befriending pet dog Peggy.
The state environment department announced the interspecies companions were reunited at their Gold Coast home on Monday, in a much-anticipated development that ends the long-running saga.
“The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation has approved a specialised licence and today returned ‘Molly’ the magpie to a couple who took it in as a nestling in 2020,” a department statement read on Monday.
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Peggy the Staffordshire terrier’s owners Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen, who took the bird home from a local park when it was injured four years ago, are yet to comment on the development.
They had relinquished care of Molly to the department on March 1 after a series of complaints.
They have been ordered to not make commercial gain from Molly, as well as continue wildlife training and engage with the department to “ensure the bird is receiving adequate care and enrichment”.
The department reiterated that Molly “is highly habituated and may have developmental issues, meaning it can never be rehabilitated or returned to the wild”, in its statement.
More to come …