Depp faces jail in 'war on terriers'

27 May 2015 - 02:20 By ©The Daily Telegraph

Johnny Depp could face up to 10 years in prison for failing to declare his pet dogs to Australian customs officials. The movie star broke quarantine laws after smuggling his two Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, into the country last month on his private jet. It only came to light when they were taken to a dog-grooming parlour, with pictures later posted on their social media accounts.Depp could also face a maximum fine of R3-million for bringing the dogs to work with him on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.His wife, Amber Heard, has now returned to Los Angeles with the dogs, after officials told the couple they had 72 hours to remove the dogs from the country or else the animals faced being euthanised.Politicians defended Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce's deadline for the dogs to leave, with one MP insisting Australia had not "declared a war on terriers".Joyce, who issued the initial threat, has been criticised for inflaming the standoff by declaring that "it's time that Pistol and Boo bugger off back to the United States".The government has been widely criticised for its handling of the case, which inspired the #WarOnTerrier hashtag on social media. ..

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