Internet sensation Molly the Magpie is free to remain with his adoptive Gold Coast family after the Queensland government took definitional dexterity to new lengths on Wednesday, deeming the bird to be “wild”. What’s the scam?
The scam is the maneuver from a government anxious not to upset the bird’s legion of fans, but questions abound over Molly’s remaining with the couple (and inter-species pal ‘Peggy the Staffy’) in the blissful domestic circumstances portrayed to its 1.3 million followers on Facebook.
Feral (or wild) birds aren’t subject to licensing, thus rendering moot a Queensland Supreme Court decision last November to rescind Reece Mortensen and Juliette Wells’ license for Molly. But just how “wild” can Molly be?
Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines “wild” to be “living outdoors without taming or domestication by humans,” a description at odds with Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell. “My understanding … from the briefs I have received from my department … is the bird is free to come and go (and) in essence it is wild,” he told the ABC.
Powell’s position has ornithologists up in arms: “It takes months and months, with expert involvement, to return a bird to the wild, and to our knowledge, there’s been none of that,” one source told MWM. “Molly had his life turned upside down when the couple took him away, and now he barks like a dog!”
Opponents of Molly’s re-homing have compared the magpie to a fish out of water and have told MWM they’re “keeping their powder dry” on a possible Supreme Court return. Meanwhile, Powell said the government is reviewing the relevant legislation “to make sure this kind of situation doesn’t happen again.”
Misanthropists expect this review to torture the meaning of “wild” to within an inch of its definitional life.
This post was originally published on Michael West.