Johnny Depp’s Dogs Escape Australia After Minister Of Agriculture Threatens To Euthanize Them

Johnny Depp’s dogs have been flown out of Australia after Australian officials threatened to euthanize them.

Australian Officials Threaten To Kill Johnny Depp’s Dogs

According to reports, Australian officials issued a warning to the actor, who brought his two Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, to Australia where he is filming the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, on Thursday. Depp allegedly brought his dogs into the country on a private plane without filing the proper paperwork, and the country has strict laws regarding animals brought into the country. Procedure dictates that dogs be placed under quarantine for at least 10 days to prevent the spread of diseases.

“If we start letting movie stars – even if they’ve been 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,” said Barnaby Joyce, Australia’s Minister of Agriculture.

Joyce publicly called out Depp’s law-breaking pets in a televised statement, explaining that the actor had until Saturday to remove his dogs from the country, or the government would be forced to euthanize them. “Now, Mr. Depp needs to take his dogs back to California or we’re going to have to euthanize them. He’s got about 50 hours (out of a 72-hour notice period),” Joyce said Thursday.

Joyce updated the public on the condition of Depp’s dogs on Friday, saying that they were on their way back to the United States with Depp and his wife, Amber Heard. “Two dogs that were brought into Australia without meeting our import requirements have now been exported back to their country of origin. The department issued the necessary export documentation and correspondence to the relevant veterinary authority to facilitate the repatriation of the dogs. All costs associated with returning the dogs were met by the owners,” Joyce said in an official statement.

Despite Depp’s compliance with the warning, Joyce also said they will continue to investigate how he got his dogs into the country in the first place. “Obviously there’s an investigation into how they came out to Australia… Mr. Depp decided he can step round our nation’s laws,” Joyce said in a radio interview. The Department of Agriculture reportedly became aware of Depp’s dogs after they were brought into a grooming salon, Happy Dogz, which then shared the news on Facebook.

Following the threats from the Australian government on the dogs, Happy Dogz took to Facebook to defend themselves against critics who blamed them for getting Depp in trouble with the law. The grooming salon assured followers that they received permission from Depp to release photos of his dogs and publicize their visit to the salon, and said they did not support the idea of the dogs being put down. Depp has not commented.