Should Celebraties Be Above The Law?

[youngmafbog]

http://news.sky.com/story/1483604/depps-dogs-must-leave-australia-or-face-death

Good on the Australian government, I for one am sick of this so called 'celebratory culture'.
//
"Just because he's Johnny Depp does not mean he's exempt from Australian law," Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said.
"There is a process if you want to bring animals - you get the permits, they go into quarantine and then you can have them.

"It's time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States.
//

And can anyone tell me why a petition has been setup for the dogs not to be destroyed?

It's quite simple, they wont be destroyed if Depp complies with the law and takes them out of the country. If they are destroyed it will be Depps fault not the Australian Government.

[Baldric]

The Boy's an arrogant Fool!

[Bazile]

//"It's time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States.//

lol - he's got a way with words , hasn't he.

[DTCwordfan]

Is Pistol an AB member?

[Old_Geezer]

But... celebs are your Gods ! Everyone bows down to them and never misses seeing them. Who are the rest of us to place rules on such beings ? Quick give them another £million as an offering to keep them happy, or they may go live and pay tax elsewhere.

[Baldric]

///or they may go live and pay tax elsewhere.///

That gets my Vote!

[Ric.ror]

I don't care what JP does after her left the lovely Vanessa
He's yesterdays man anyway now

[chaptazbru2]

He most definitely should not have taken the dogs into the country that way and if he cares about them at all, he will get them out pretty quickly, BUT I would sign a petition to save them, after all it's not the dogs' fault !

[sandyRoe]

Were they smuggled into the country?

[andy-hughes]

It's true that Johnny Depp is not above the law - but nothing in the report suggests that he thinks he is.

There is no statement from Mr Depp advising that, in view of his status as a film star, he should be allowed to flout the law on this occasion - the only reason that this is news is because of his fame, which is not something he sought, or could be said to exploit in any meaningful way.

So this is a puff piece on a slow news day, and not worth getting het up about.

[gingejbee]

...and there are some who think it should not have been mentioned at all on a BBC news programme....

[chaptazbru2]

sandy - as far as I know, he flew them in in his private jet.

[joggerjayne]

Are celebrities above the law?

No, of course not.

But ... Johnny Depp?

You could forgive him for the odd, teensy weensy little infringement.

Or maybe, you know ... a bit of a smacking might be in order?

[jno]

I was wondering that too, sandyRoe. I doubt he flew in in a stealth plane and landed in the middle of the Nullarbor so he could sneak his dogs in (though it could have happened). If they were allowed in they should stay, assuming they're not frothing at the mouth: if they've been there for weeks and not killed any babies or worried any sheep, I don't know that there's any point in throwing them out now.

But perhaps because their owners are celebs, the government wants to be seen to be taking a tough line.