Molly the magpie set to be reunited with carers ‘very soon’, Queensland premier says
April 10, 2024
By Andrew Messenger
Instagram-famous Molly the magpie could be flying home “very soon” after the Queensland premier declared there was a clear pathway to return the bird to its Gold Coast carers.
Steven Miles threw his support behind the Gold Coast couple who cared for the animal, after it was seized from them last month due to the lack of a wildlife carer’s permit.
“This morning the department has advised me that the couple can secure the appropriate licence,” the premier said on social media on Wednesday. “The team will work with them now to do that.
“It’s good news and means Molly can come home very soon.”
The bird has attracted more than 800,000 followers on social media due to its unlikely friendship with their carers’ Staffordshire bull terrier, Peggy. The pair are the subject of years of social media content and even a published book by the Gold Coast couple, Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen. They adopted Molly in 2020 after finding the fledgling fallen from the nest.
Under Queensland law, it is unlawful to care for a wild animal without a permit. The bird was surrendered to environmental authorities on 1 March.
Miles said he had spoken with Wells and Mortensen on Wednesday to tell them the state government had “identified a pathway” for them to get a permit to allow the bird to be returned to them.
“I know that that will come as good news to the thousands of people who comment on my Facebook page every day calling on me to free Molly,” Miles said on Wednesday.
The premier and his ministers do not have the power to order Queensland’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation to return the bird.
In an Instagram video shared in March, the couple said they had previously attempted to get a permit. They were “devastated” to lose the bird, they said.
“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.
More than 150,000 people signed a petition calling on the department to reunite Peggy and Molly.
In a social media message on Wednesday, Miles said the bird “is in great spirits and is receiving good care” in the hands of the department.