Back in May of this year, Johnny Depp was filming Pirates of Caribbean 5: No One Asked For This down in Australia. His new bride Amber Heard joined him at their rented estate in Queensland, and she brought their dogs, Pistol and Boo. She brought Pistol and Boo via private plane, and she did not get all of the proper paperwork on them, nor did she follow any of the protocols involved with bringing foreign animals into Australia. Of course it became a controversy, but Aussie Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce seemed to overplay his hand by threatening to kill poor Boo and Pistol. John Oliver incidentally did a hilarious take on this story – go here to watch.

Anyway, Amber Heard called Barnaby Joyce a famewhore, but she ended up taking the dogs out of the country. Both Depp and Heard seemed to suggest that they would not be spending any time in Australia in the future. Depp still had to complete filming on Pirates 5 though, and when Amber visited him again, she was slapped with formal charges for “illegally importing” the dogs. Here’s this week’s update on the situation:

Amber Heard plans to plead not guilty to charges of allegedly sneaking her and husband Johnny Depp’s dogs into Australia illegally in May. In a statement released by her lawyer, Heard announced that she will fight charges of illegal importation and falsifying documents, although she respects “the importance of Australian laws,” NBC News reports.

“My decision to defend these charges, as will become apparent in the appropriate forum of the Court, is not intended in any way to diminish the importance of Australia’s laws,” she said in the statement.

Heard, 29, was accused of sneaking her and Depp’s two Yorkshire terriers – named Pistol and Boo – into Australia on a private jet earlier this year, breaking the country’s biosecurity laws. Once it was discovered that the couple allegedly broke the law, politician Barnaby Joyce threatened to euthanize the dogs unless Depp, 52, and Heard returned the terriers to the U.S. within 72 hours. The actress said she is willing to testify in court proceedings, and lawyers indicated that Depp is allowed to appear as long as his presence is not “disruptive to the court,” The Telegraph reports.

If found guilty, Heard could face up to 10 years in prison and a $75,000 fine for the two counts of illegal importation as well as up to one year in prison and a $7,500 fine for the alleged false documentation, an official previously told PEOPLE.

[From People]

For the love of God. While Scarfy and Amber aren’t my favorite people in the world and God knows, they should probably face some kind of punishment for these doggy shenanigans, I think Australia is taking it a bit too far, right? 10 years in prison for wanting to travel to Australia with your dogs? A $75K fine? I guess this is noteworthy because Amber has changed her tune – she’s no longer getting snotty about how Barnaby Joyce is a famewhore, she’s now saying that of course she respects Australia’s laws (just not enough to actually follow them).

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Amber Heard will fight the charges related to bringing Pistol & Boo into Australia

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Amber Heard will fight the charges related to bringing Pistol & Boo into Australia

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