By now, you are probably aware that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were involved in two trials over the last couple of years instigated by the Pirates of the Caribbean actor and his legal team. Amber Heard actually testified in both cases, where a variety of topics came up. In fact, during her ex's libel trial in the U.K. the criminal proceedings they faced in 2015 when she illegally smuggled their pups Pistol and Boo into Australia came up. This reportedly led to another investigation, and now a former parliament member in the country has explained why the case really was “serious,” despite some people not taking it so.
When the Aquaman 2 actress and the Edward Scissorhands star first faced criminal proceedings in Australia after Heard brought the dogs with her then-husband to the country while he filmed the infamous Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the whole thing was treated as a bit of silly news in the papers – until Australia threatened to execute Depp’s dogs. Ultimately, the two paid hefty fines but their dogs were returned to them, Johnny Depp joked about the incident, and the matter seemed to be closed.
Then, a few weeks ago, news broke that Amber Heard is allegedly being investigated for a second time over the dog declaration incident in Australia. In this case, it is because information that came up during Johnny Depp’s libel trial against The Sun’s parent company reportedly contradicted with information Heard gave Australian authorities over the do
Why Amber Heard Bringing Two Dogs Into Australia Is Being Taken So Seriously
Barnaby Joyce just so happened to be the Minister for Agriculture during the Amber Heard dog incident in 2015. In a recent interview with Law & Crime, the interviewer brought up how parts of the world seemingly saw the “dog incident” compared to how Australia saw it, with some thinking it's "very serious" and others taking it more as a joke. Joyce expanded on why it is so serious to reporter Angenette Levy, noting there are two reasons:
There’s two things. Australia is an island continent. And we take as sort of our national identity, biosecurity incredibly seriously. Other countries might take religious laws incredibly seriously, they might take espionage laws very seriously, but we take biosecurity laws incredibly seriously. The reason being it would decimate our economy.
Joyce went on to explain the second reason has to do with how Australia has kept its closed borders to avoid things like rabies and to avoid certain issues other countries have faced. He says as an island nation the country has real but different concerns than many other countries.
You have a range of things – rabies, we don’t have rabies in Australia. A lot of people go bushwalking. I’ve got wild dogs around here… I’m a farmer. And you know it would change the whole complexion of how our nation would run. We’re very aware of what happens if there’s an incursion of rabies or screw fly, or the big one we’re watching out for is foot and mouth. And so we come down like a ton of bricks on people who would decimate our regional economies, change our standard, our way we live in our nation, and force up the cost of living!
So, when Amber Heard didn’t file the necessary documents, reportedly falsified paperwork, and brought the dogs in, she flaunted rules Australia clearly takes very seriously. At the time, Barnaby Joyce even famously spoke out about the incident, saying they could make accommodations, even for a celebrity who was the “sexiest man alive” (aka Depp).
But if we start letting movie stars — even though they've been the sexiest man alive twice — to come into our nation [and break the laws], 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.
It’s unclear if the Pistol and Boo incident ( which is separate from the poo in bed incident) will lead to more legal trouble for Amber Heard, but the Australian Department of Agriculture did say in June the case was “ongoing,” confirming to The Daily Mail “allegations of perjury by Ms. Heard” were being looked into. Joyce also reiterated in the most recent interview there should be an expectation that celebrities should not get special treatment when it comes to matters of law, but that he ultimately wouldn't "draw conclusions" about where this investigation could be headed. We'll keep you updated either way.
