The Queensland Department of Environment has asked a Gold Coast couple for a briefing on a new animated series about their dog Peggy and adopted magpie Molly.
Peggy and Molly (along with Peggy’s puppy, Ruby) have become social media celebrities, amassing 1.3 million followers on Facebook and 949,000 on Instagram.
Juliet Wells and Rhys Mortensen gained a huge online following after they found Molly, a male magpie, abandoned in 2020 and fostered him back home.
An animated series featuring Peggy and Molly, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Gold Coast magpie, is currently in the works.credit: Zentrix Studios
But they broke a law that bans keeping wild animals as pets. Environment Ministry officers moved in and seized Molly on March 1, sparking a social media outcry that reached Prime Minister Steven Miles’ office.
In April, Molly was returned to the couple on condition that they obtain proper animal care training and licences, and have “no ongoing commercial gain from the bird or its image”.
But in Share on Peggy and Molly’s Facebook page An upcoming animated series featuring characters based on Piggy, Molly, other animals and themselves was announced Thursday.
Real Molly the Magpie with Peggy the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. credit: Facebook/Peggy and Molly
“We are so excited to announce that Xentrix Studios will produce a wholesome and touching animated series about a kind-hearted, animal-loving couple and their beautiful girls, Magpie and their friends,” they wrote.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation confirmed the conditions for Molly’s return, including that the couple “do not engage in commercial activities with the Magpies”.
