Molly the magpie will be home 'very soon', months after being seized by authorities.
The bird, who had struck up an unlikely friendship with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier dog called Peggy, had been living with Gold Coast couple Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen until she was seized by authorities in March.
Wells, a photographer, had documented the lives of Peggy and Molly on social media.
The pair amassed more than a million followers on Facebook.
In June 2023, Queensland's Department of Environment removed Molly from the couple's care, saying the bird had been "taken from the wild and kept illegally, without permission, licence or authority to do so".
Queensland Premier Steven Miles shared a message on social media on Wednesday morning to let his followers know the Department of Environment was working with the couple so they could get the appropriate licence that would allow them to keep Molly.
"It's good news and means Molly can home very soon," Miles wrote.
The couple posted the news on Wednesday morning by resharing Miles' announcement.
The magpie is a native Australian species that can live for up to 30 years and cannot, by law, live in captivity as a domestic animal.
Only those who have training to care for wild animals can do so in certain circumstances.
The Gold Coast couple said they caught Molly as a chick after he fell from a nest in a local park.
They had said they brought the magpie home and took care of it before releasing it, but the animal developed an attachment to the family dog.
They also said they did not keep Molly from flying away and that the magpie would certainly have died if not for the help they provided.
Peggy and Molly's fans created a petition with more than 130,000 signatures to deliver to the Department of Environment urging it to return the magpie to the Gold Coast couple and her canine friend.
