Charges dropped in dog smuggling case against Johnny Depp's wife,

Amber Heard, the wife of actor Johnny Depp, has avoided conviction for illegally taking dogs into Australia. Ms Heard, who appeared in court on Monday, had pleaded guilty to making a false statement on her immigration card about the couple's Yorkshire terriers. But the Queensland judge gave her a one-month good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded. If she breaks the bond she must pay A$1,000 ($770;£540). Two illegal importation charges against her were dropped earlier. These carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail or fines of up to A$265,000.Ms Hear

Ms Heard and Mr Depp both attended Southport Magistrate's Court in Queensland state, amid a media scrum.

Her guilty plea meant Mr Depp was excused from giving evidence to the court.

Johnny Depp arrives at court — Image captionA huge media contingent was on hand when Mr Depp and Ms Heard arrived at Southport Magistrate's Court

Ms Heard brought the dogs, Pistol and Boo, to Queensland in a private jet in May 2015 to visit Mr Depp, who was filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The dogs' presence in the country was noticed after a local dog groomer posted a photo of them on social media.

Ms Heard pleaded guilty to declaring "No" on her immigration card under the section asking if she was bringing anything, including animals, into the country.

Her lawyer argued that the actress had done so because she thought Mr Depp's assistants had already sorted out the dogs' travel documents.

A video was also shown in court in which the couple expressed remorse and advised travellers to respect Australian laws.

Australia's quarantine laws

Live animals and plants, plant material, animal products and some food from overseas can not be brought into the country without government permission because they can introduce some of the world's most serious pests and diseases.
Those who flout the rules face fines of more than A$66,000 ($51,000; £36,000) and risk 10 years jail.
As an example of how serious it can be, in 1995 a 500km (310-mile) by 200km quarantine zone was established in northern Queensland just to control foreign fruit fly maggots.

The case was dubbed the "war on terrier" and made international headlines when then-agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce, said the pets should "bugger off back to the US".

Happy Dogz staff pose with Boo and Pistol — Image captionThe dogs were discovered when a picture was posted of them at grooming parlour last year

Mr Joyce, who is now deputy prime minister, threatened to put the dogs down and said even the "sexiest man alive" needed to adhere to quarantine rules.

The dogs were quickly taken out of the country and Ms Heard vowed never to return to Australia.

Australia's tough quarantine laws are designed to keep disease at bay. Dogs entering from the US must spend 10 days in quarantine.