Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen share photo of Molly the Magpie after he was surrendered to DESI
The owners of Molly the Magpie have been brought to tears after they received a photo of the beloved bird —the first time they’ve seen him since he was removed from their care 43 days ago.
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The owners of Molly the Magpie have been brought to tears after they received a photo of the beloved bird — the first time they’ve seen him since he was removed from their care 43 days ago.
The magpie, famous for its bonded relationship with Peggy the staffy, made worldwide headlines on March 1 after it was surrendered to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) officials.
Now, 43 days after he was “taken”, the bird’s carers Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen received a photo of him from officials.
“We have our first photo,” they posted to their Peggy and Molly Facebook page.
“OMG. Tears started rolling.
“They came and told us they wanted to take you away.
“We couldn’t even picture what that would look like.
“I will never forget that day.
“We look forward to the day very soon to be able to see you with our own eyes and be reunited again.”
The post comes a day after DESI said Molly could be returned with Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen but they must agree to a series of conditions first which included:
* No ongoing commercial gain from the bird or its image.
* Undertaking wildlife carer training.
* Advocating public education to encourage people to appropriately care for native wildlife and acknowledging the specialist skills required to care for and rehabilitate wildlife.
* Ongoing engagement with DESI to ensure the bird is receiving adequate care and enrichment.
A DESI statement said Molly could never be returned to the wild as he was “highly habituated and may have developmental issues”.
“Once the individuals have demonstrated that they can and will meet the conditions, Molly will be placed with its former carers.”
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Originally published as Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen share photo of Molly the Magpie after he was surrendered to DESI
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