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 (DESI) 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 he fell from a nest 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, which the department acted on because Wells and Mortensen were not authorised and trained wildlife carers.
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.
The Peggy and Molly Instagram account has amassed more than 830,000 followers, and last year a book was released about the animal friends.
Wells and Mortensen had kept followers abreast of developments in their push to reunite Peggy and Molly, which gained significant community support including from Queensland Premier Steven Miles.
On Friday, they posted a photo of Molly taken by wildlife carers on the Instagram account, with the caption: “We look forward to the day very soon to be able to see you with our own eyes and be reunited again.”
The previous day, the department had outlined the “long-term arrangements” that officials required for Molly “to ensure they have the appropriate license and training to properly home the magpie”.
The conditions were confirmed on Monday.
“The family demonstrated their willingness and ability to meet the conditions set out in the licence, including no ongoing commercial gain from the bird or its image, undertaking wildlife carer training (and) ongoing engagement with DESI to ensure the bird is receiving adequate care and enrichment,” the statement read.
“These conditions are standard for all specialised licences held by wildlife carers in Queensland and ensure the best outcome for the bird’s ongoing health and wellbeing.
“DESI has also required the family undertake an advocacy and public education role be performed to encourage people to appropriately care for native wildlife and acknowledging the specialist skills required to care for and rehabilitate wildlife.”