Australian officials have told actor Johnny Depp that he has until Saturday to get his pet dogs out of Australia — and if they haven’t “buggered off” by then they will be put down, the reports.
Depp’s two dogs are on a deportation countdown after the actor violated Australia’s famously strict biosecurity laws by bringing them in on a private flight and without the proper documentation.
The star, who is in Australia filming the latest installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, was told that he had to get his pets, Yorkshire terriers named Pistol and Boo, out of the country, Australia’s Minister of Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, said in a televised statement.
Joyce said that a 51-year-old man, Jonathan Christopher Depp, decided to bring two dogs to “our nation, despite not getting the proper certification and the proper permits required. Basically it looked like he snuck them in.”
He started a countdown to a deadline for which Depp, and his wife, Amber Heard, who is traveling with him, need to comply — or risk the authorities putting Pistol and Boo to sleep.
“Now Mr. Depp needs to take his dogs back to California or we’re going to have to euthanize them. He’s now got about 50 hours (out of a 72-hour notice period).”
Joyce made his statement Thursday morning local time, meaning the count will expire on Saturday morning.
The minister said that the Department needed to crack down on this high-profile case to make a point about Australia’s stringent animal import laws.