Molly the magpie: Queensland premier backs return of Instagram-hit bird to couple after being seized | Queensland

Queensland’s premier has thrown his support for a campaign to return an Instagram-famous magpie to its former carers and its dog best friend, after it was seized by the environment department.

Gold Coast couple Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen adopted Molly the magpie in 2020 after it fell from the nest.

The bird went viral after it struck up a friendship with their Staffordshire bull terrier Peggy, and the Gold Coast couple created an Instagram page to celebrate what Wells called a “real-life Winnie the Pooh and Piglet story”. A backlog of years of Instagram videos show the pair playing together, sleeping together and spending time together.

They now have more than 719,000 followers on their page, Peggy and Molly, and even published a book in November.

But fame proved no protection from the authorities.

The couple described themselves as “grieving” and “devastated” to lose the magpie, which they surrendered to authorities on 1 March.

“We are devastated to give you this news and of course these beautiful girls [dogs Peggy and Ruby]; they’ve lost their best friend,” Wells said.

In an Instagram message posted on Tuesday, Wells and Mortensen said the department turned initially up on their doorstep in June.

“We did everything in our power to work with the department, including training and also me obtaining my wildlife permit, which, after a period of time, I had to retract my application, as it was a bit of a conflict to our page,” Mortensen said.

They called for an investigation into the handling of the situation by the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation and asked followers to email their support to the state government.

Nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition calling on the department to reunite Peggy and Molly.

On Wednesday, Steven Miles said he backed the campaign and encouraged officers at the department to work with the couple to return the animal.

“I gotta say, I’ve got some sympathy for people supporting Molly the magpie,” the premier said.

“I know our environment department, I used to be their minister. I know they take their responsibilities under the law very seriously. But I think in these circumstances, there’s room for some flexibility. I just urge them to work with Molly’s carers to get the necessary wildlife carer training so that she can get back home.”

The premier and the environment minister, Leanne Linard, do not have the power to order the animal returned. It is a decision of the department.

It is understood that the department says the wild animal was kept without a permit or licence, which is unlawful under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

A department spokesperson said it shared “the community’s desire to ensure Molly is cared for in the most appropriate way going forward”.

In comments to other media, the department said it was seeking to find the bird a home at a “suitable facility”.

It did not answer questions as to whether it intended to return the bird to Wells and Mortensen.