Amber Heard charged with importing dogs illegally
Heard could face up to 10 years in prison and a hefty fine.
Amber Heard, Johnny Depp's wife and star of Magic Mike XXL has been charged with illegally bringing their dogs into Australia.
As we reported back in May Depp and Heard found themselves in hot water as they allegedly bought their dogs Pistol and Boo into Australia illegally. The country which has strict quarantine laws demanded the dogs were returned to the US, or euthanised.
At the time Australia's agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce said “If we start letting movie stars – even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice – to come into our nation (with pets), then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody?”.
Heard has now been issued a summons to appear at a court in Queensland on the 7th September. She has been charged with two counts of illegally importing the dogs and one count of producing a false document.
The importation charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of AUS$102,000 whereas the false document charge carries a maximum of one year and a fine of AUS$10,200.
Joyce has dismissed claims that he is painting Australia in a bad light by charging Heard and recently told reporters, “The law is the same for everybody, there is no preferential treatment here. You come into our nation, you have to abide by biosecurity protocols.”
At present Depp who is filming the fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series in Australia has not been charged. The prosecutor's office will not answer questions on why, citing the ongoing nature of the case.