It seems the task of having a family is fraught with danger, especially if you are a magpie.

A magpie in Tweed Heads had a permit issued, allowing it to be shot, after it struck a teenage schoolgirl earlier in the week, while protecting its nest site.

However it seems the bird has been given a stay of execution after significant public response to the story.

Licence to kill

According to Lawrence Orel from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), under the 'aggressive bird policy', magpies that cause injury to people or pose a significant risk can have a permit issued for their destruction.

He says that incidents where magpies physically strike people 'often result in a permit being able to be issued' which ultimately allows the bird in question to be shot.

"Pretty much anybody who has grown up in Australia knows that this is one of the experiences of spring is magpie attacks.

"But there are occasions each season where, unfortunately, there are just some birds that are just so aggressive that they do need to be destroyed."

Other options

Marnie Bonner from the Australian Seabird Rescue says killing one of a pair of parent magpies leaves the partner bird and chicks vulnerable.

"When one adult is taken out of the picture the remaining adult is responsible for keeping the chicks alive and so then all their lives are threatened.

She says there are other, more humane options for dealing with aggressive birds.

"Australian Seabird Rescue has capture methods that would enable us to easily capture this bird and remove it from this situation just while the chicks are fledging.

According to Bonner, 'magpies only attack when their chicks are dependent' so once the chicks have passed that stage, the captured bird can be returned to its family to share the

parenting role.

She says the organisation have done this successfully in the past.

Helping magpies by avoiding nesting sites

Orel says NPWS are very aware that there are 'a whole lot of cascading issues if we destroy birds'.

He says magpies are 'really smart birds' and if humans avoid antagonising them, they will be less aggressive.

"We, as humans who share this environment with our wildlife ... are the ones that can really modify our behaviour.

"It's much better if we look at trying to modify our behaviour.

"We'd like people to avoid the areas where they're nesting and try and teach younger children not to antagonise magpies because that just confirms to the bird that humans are indeed a threat to what they're protecting."

Stay of execution

Since media covered the fate of the Tweed Heads magpie in question the community has responded in defence of the bird.

For the moment at least, that means Mr or Mrs Magpie are not in the line of fire.

"The bird is still able to survive," says Orel, "and go about its nesting process.

"It's a really good outcome for both the bird and the community."

However, it's not a full pardon for the protective parent; the permit still stands and if the bird causes more trouble, it could still be shot.