Why Australia was right to make Johnny Depp and Amber Heard apologise

Amber Heard has avoided a conviction for illegally taking her dogs into Australia. The US actress married to film star Johnny Depp pleaded guilty to making a false statement on her immigration card which asked if she was travelling with pet animals. A Queensland judge this week gave her a one-month good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded.

However, they also gave a profuse apology to Australian border authorities in a video released by the Australian Department for Agriculture.

The video has been widely mocked for Johnny Depp’s less than heartfelt delivery with many people suggesting it made them look like hostages reading from a script written by their captors.

In the video, Amber Heard says, “Australia is free of many pests and diseases that are commonplace around the world – that is why Australia has to have such strong bio-security laws

The couple also say “Protecting Australia is important - Declare everything when you enter Australia”

The words reflect just how seriously the Australian authorities take this case. It’s not clear whether Johnny Depp himself understands why it was such a serious matter.

Australia has a delicate and unique eco-system. After breaking away from the supercontinent Gondwana, and then Antartica, Australia has spent 50 million years in isolation. It doesn’t deal very well with animals that aren’t a product of that evolution and has struggled with a number of invasive species.

Australia has also worked hard to become rabies free. It has maintained a rabies-free status because of strict quarantine laws. Everyone, including celebrities, should respect these laws when they bring their pet dogs into the country. All live animals can only be brought into the country with government permission.

While Australia is rabies-free, rabies is present in over 150 countries and Australia is right to take the rabies threat seriously. If it re-enters the country, then it would become hard to contain.

That is why Depp and Heard need to understand the gravity of their actions. Even if their dogs are vaccinated, there can’t be one law for them and another for every-one else.

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have got off lightly – the offence carries with it a jail term of up to ten years. Their video apology helps get the message out about declaring dog imports, even if Johnny Depp could have been a little less churlish.

You can watch the video apology here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORpBAIB9j64