Australia Denies ‘War On Terrier’ As Johnny Depp Flies 2 Pet Dogs Out Of Gold Coast To Spare The Animals From Death
The lives of Boo and Pistol, the pet Yorkshire Terrier of American actor Johnny Depp, were spared after he beat the Saturday deadline to ship the two dogs back to California. Australia threatened to euthanise the dogs of the Pirates of the Caribbean actor after he brought them to the country aboard his private jet, and in the process bypassing Canberra’s immigration procedures.
Despite the threat to cull the two dogs, Australian Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane stressed that Australia did not declare a war on terriers. He said, “We’ve given the owners of the dogs the option of taking them out of the country and bringing them back in if he wishes through a proper process,” quotes The Telegraph.
MacFarlane pointed out that there can be no exceptions to the nation’s quarantine laws if Australia want to keep pests and diseases out of the country. He adds, “I don’t think we declared war on two terries,” which led to the use of the hashtag #WarOnTerrior hashtag on Twitter by those who commented on the “death threat.”
The dogs left Australia on Friday evening, but the situation has created a sort of word war after Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce was quoted as saying, “It’s time that Pistol and Boo b------ off back to the United States. That comment earned a rebuke from radio host Kyle Sandilands who castigated Joyce for sounding like an idiot using street language.
Joyce warned that Boo and Pistol’s return to the US could face some problems, but Australian officials said it would issue export permits for the two dog which has high chances of being approved by border agents in the US because Australia is free of rabies.
The terriers had a Department of Agriculture officer as escort from Depp's rented house where the two dogs were temporarily quarantined, reports CBC. The 51-year-old actor remains in Australia to finish the filming of part 5 of the Pirates of Caribbean series at Gold Coast. He has not commented on the issue.
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