Johnny Depp’s dogs Boo and Pistol have been flown out of Australia after the Agriculture Minister warned they were facing being put down.

The Hollywood superstar, 51, became embroiled in an customs furore when it emerged he entered the country by private jet and failed to declare to customs officers his beloved Yorkshire terriers were on board.

Minister Barnaby Joyce said the animals’ destiny was uncertain and admitted it was uncertain whether US biosecurity officers would permit them to return to the country.

But it became clear that the animals had been spared this afternoon when Joyce tweeted: “Dogs gone.‘

Mr Joyce previously said he was “seriously worried” they might not have the right permits to get back into the US and could be rendered “stateless”.

“The question is if he breached our laws, then did he follow the correct laws in the US?” he said. “My worry is will the US let them back in? If not … will they have anywhere to go?”

Australia tells Johnny Depp’s dogs Pistol and Boo to “bugger off”

Liane Kent, the Gold Coast dog groomer who unwittingly alerted authorities to the tiny quarantine fugitives with a social media post, took to Facebook to defend herself against the move, saying she had the permission of Depp’s minders to post the photo.

Ms Kent said that she has been subject to online abuse since she was outed as the person who inadvertently sparked the quarantine investigation.

Depp, who was in Australia to film the latest instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean, and his wife Amber Heard have been accused by the Department of Agriculture of breaking import laws by not declaring Yorkshire Terriers Boo and Pistol to customs when they flew in by private jet from California last month.

Anyone bringing dogs into the country must have them quarantined for a minimum of 10 days after arrival to protect against the spread of disease.

Giving the pair an ultimatum, Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said he had got until Saturday to remove them: “Mr Depp has to either take his dogs back to California or we are going to have to euthanise them.

“He’s now got about 50 hours left to remove the dogs. He can put them on the same charter jet he flew in on and fly back out of our nation.”

The Agriculture Minister said the star’s status did not exempt him from the strict quarantine laws. He told 612 ABC Brisbane: “There is a process if you want to bring animals: you get the permits, they go into quarantine and then you can have them.

“If we start letting movie stars even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice to come into our nation, 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.”

The move has sparked an online petition set up on Change.org, which gained almost 600 signatures in an hour.

We have contacted a rep for Depp for comment.