Updated 9.40pm
JOHNNY DEPP HAS until Saturday to get his dogs out of Australia or else the Yorkshire Terriers will be put down.
The warning has been issued because the actor did not declare the dogs when they were flown into Queensland by private jet last month.
Boo and Pistol came to customs attention when a picture was posted of them at a grooming parlous.
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce told reporters, “Johnny Depp has to either take his dogs back to California or we’re going to have to euthanise them.
If we start letting movie stars even though they’ve been 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.
“He can put them on the same charter jet he flew out on and fly back out of our nation.”
Depp is in Australia filming ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales’.
An online petition has been set up to save the lives of Pistol and Boo.
As expected, the story is getting a lot of traction on Twitter, and the hashtag #waronterrier quickly became a trending topic.
Meanwhile, the dog groomers have told The Sydney Morning Herald that Pistol and Boo looked immaculate when they were groomed. Lianne Kent from the Happy Dogz salon said:
They smelled amazing. I did a full groom, bath and trimming. They were just gorgeous dogs – they’d just sit there.
The dogs have not yet been removed from the home of the actor.
Australia has strict rules to keep disease at bay, requiring cats and dogs from the US to spend at least 10 days in quarantine.
But Depp arriving in Brisbane last month with the Yorkshire terriers in tow without declaring them to customs. The Hollywood star flew them in on his private jet.
“There is a process if you want to bring animals. You get the permits, they go into quarantine and then you can have them,” said Joyce.
“It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States,” added the minister.
He can send them back or we will have to euthanise them.
Asked if his tough stance may affect Depp’s view of him, Joyce replied: “I don’t think Mr Depp will be inviting me to the grand opening of the Pirates of the Caribbean.”
- Additional reporting AFP
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