Johnny Depp's Yorkshire terriers 'on death row' in Australia

Boo and Pistol will be 'destroyed' unless they 'bugger off back to the US', says Australian minister

150514-deppdog.jpg

Johnny Depp has been told that his two dogs will be put down unless they leave Australia in the coming days after he bypassed animal import laws.

The Hollywood actor failed to declare Yorkshire terriers Boo and Pistol at customs after they arrived in the country on his private jet last month. They were only recently discovered after Depp took them to a dog groomer and are now "on death row", says The Guardian.

Under Australian law, dogs brought into the country must be quarantined for a minimum of ten days, or longer if they are suspected of carrying dangerous diseases such as rabies.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"There is a process if you want to bring animals: you get the permits, they go into quarantine and then you can have them," agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce told ABC news.

He said the actor could not be afforded any special treatment. "If we start letting movie stars - even though they've been [voted] the sexiest man alive twice - to come into our nation, then why don't we just break the laws for everybody? It's time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States."

A petition launched to try and help save Boo and Pistol has already received thousands of signatures. "It's mega. If it keeps going like it is hopefully it will create enough public attention that Barnaby Joyce will make a fair decision," said Namita Sopal, who started the petition.

The story has provoked a global media frenzy, with reporters camped outside the star's Gold Coast mansion, where he is staying while he films the fifth instalment of Pirates of Caribbean.

"Media interest in the story is so intense a mini economy has sprouted up outside the estate with a catering van arriving to feed the press," says the BBC's Wendy Frew. "It might all sound like a bit of fun but Australian quarantine laws are no joke," she adds.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us