A veteran wildlife carer says authorities endangered the life of a magpie by failing to act on its unlikely pairing with an English staffy.

Hundreds of thousands of online fans followed the relationship between Molly the magpie and Peggy the rescue dog since 2021.

But that came to an end when Molly was voluntarily surrendered to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) earlier this month.

The department said the magpie was "taken from the wild and kept unlawfully with no permit, licence or authority".

'Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet':

Gold Coast lady Juliette Wells said she was out walking Peggy in 2020 when she came across Molly as a chick on the ground.

She said she tried to reunite the bird with its parents but had no success and brought Peggy home with her.

That's when the "real-life Winnie-the-Pooh and piglet story" began.

The bond between the animals was so close that Ms Wells said Peggy started producing milk for Molly when she was first rescued.

But under Queensland law a sick or injured native animal must go into the care of a person with a valid rehabilitation permit.

"Animals in rehabilitation must not associate with domestic animals due to the potential for them to be subjected to stress and the risks of behavioural imprinting and transmission of diseases," a DESI spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the department was investigating the case and it would be "inappropriate to comment further about potential compliance outcomes".

"The magpie is currently under the care of DESI," they said.

"Unfortunately, it has been highly habituated to human contact and is not capable of being released back into the wild.

"A process is currently underway to have the magpie placed at a suitable facility."

Above | Molly and Peggy loved to sit outdoors together & nap.

Original Story By | Mark Rigby and Julia André