Famous Gold Coast magpie who befriended dog seized by authorities

A famous Aussie magpie who rose to stardom after becoming best friends with a dog has been seized by authorities amid accusations it was being kept “unlawfully”.

Authorities have seized a magpie who was rescued as a chick and nursed back to health by a Queensland family over allegations it was being “kept unlawfully”.

Molly the magpie – who was first thought to be a female, but later discovered was male – rose to internet fame after becoming best friends with Peggy, an adorable English staffy who took a shining to the bird.

Gold Coast locals Juliette Wells and her partner Reece Mortensen rescued a very sick Molly when she was just a chick and nursed him back to health.

Once he was back to normal, they let the bird fly away outside. However, Molly had other plans.

As it turns out, the bird has grew quite fond of both the human and canine occupants of the house and decided to stick around.

Peggy and Molly appear to be best friends. Picture: Instagram / @peggyandmolly

Molly has never been caged, had his wings clipped or been forced to stay inside.

Rather, Ms Wells and Mr Mortenson have asserted many times that Molly has always been free to come and go as he wants.

Ms Well captured the bird’s incredible interactions with her dog, Peggy, and shared them online on their Instagram page, which rapidly saw them explode with popularity.

The family then welcomed little Ruby, Peggy’s puppy, into the family, with Molly soon appearing to fall in love with her too.

The magpie has been part of the Ms Wells’ and Mr Mortenson’s home life for over three years now, and their cross-animal friendship even inspired a heartwarming book to be released about the pair.

But now their happy family life may never be the same after authorities took Molly away amid allegations he was being “kept unlawfully”.

The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) confirmed to News.com.au that the bird has been seized, with a process currently in place to “have the magpie placed at a suitable facility”.

People are concerned for both animals after Molly was taken away. Picture: Instagram / @peggyandmolly

Ms Wells and Mr Mortenson have not been charged with any crime.

“A magpie that was allegedly being unlawfully kept by members of the public was voluntarily surrendered to the Department on Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) on Friday 1 March,” a spokesperson from DESI said in a statement.

“It is alleged that the bird was taken from the wild and kept unlawfully, with no permit, licence or authority being issued by DESI.

“All Queensland native animals are protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. To keep a native animal that originates from the wild, a person must have a permit, licence or authority to lawfully have the animal in their possession.”

The statement touched on the fact that the couple helped Molly be nursed back to health when he was sick as a tiny chick who fell out of the nest.

“Animals that are sick, orphaned or injured must go to a person who holds a valid rehabilitation permit, which are issued to people who have demonstrated skills, knowledge and experience dealing with and caring for native animals,” the statement continued.

“The purpose of rehabilitating native wildlife is to provide care so that the animal can be released back to the wild.

Photo from when Molly and Peggy first met. Picture: Instagram / @peggyandmolly

“When an animal is being rehabilitated, it must be done in a way that minimises humanisation and allows it to exhibit natural instincts and behaviour.

“Animals in rehabilitation must not associate with domestic animals due to the potential for them to be subjected to stress and the risks of behavioural imprinting and transmission of diseases.

“Animals from the wild, must stay wild.”

Molly is currently seized while authorities find a “suitable facility” for her, due to the bird being too domesticated to be released back into the wild, the statement added.

“The magpie is currently under the care of DESI. Unfortunately, it has been highly habituated to human contact and is not capable of being released back into the wild,” DESI explained.

“A process is currently underway to have the magpie placed at a suitable facility.”

The matter is still be investigated.

Ms Wells and Mr Mortenson said they were “devastated” by what had happened and are pleading for help to bring Molly home.

In a video, the couple confirmed to their over two million followers on various platforms that they had to surrender the magpie.

“It breaks out heart to make this announcement today. We had to surrender Molly... as we had a small group of people constantly complaining to them,” Ms Wells said.

A video of the pair 'holding hands' went viral. Picture: Instagram / @peggyandmolly

“The department of environmental science turned up at our door on the 13th of June, wanting us to surrender Molly. We refused, as he was thriving in the trees surrounding our property and had been accepted here.

“After long discussions, they left. We thought everything was ok.

“But after much discussions and exhausting all avenues... I had to make the toughest decision of my life and I handed a wild bird over to live in captivity.

“I asked them if I could visit and monitor his progress. So far, they have not responded to any of my requests.”

While they claim they did not intentionally go viral, they have enjoyed showing the world the story of Peggy and Molly.

Ms Wells added that they had been “concern” from authorities about the money she had been making from these posts.

Peggy and Molly's friendship has warmed hearts around the world. Picture: Instagram / @peggyandmolly

“Yes, we may have been a little naive in the beginning, but we have done our best to rectify this,” she said.

“From the moment we found a little sick bird to this day, everything we have done has been done with pure intentions and the absolute joy of sharing this beautiful cross-animal friendship that we have been so honoured to witness.

“There was a concern from DESI that we did this to make money from a wild bird.

“This was not my intention at all. I am a photographer and an artist, one who took extremely cute photos of animals together, using my talents to make people happy.”

They urged others to “help” them in the fight to have Molly returned by contacting their local government departments.