A judge has ordered that an Outaouais man get back his three wallabies. But he won't be allowed to take them home to Wakefield, Que.

Last fall, Quebec conservation officers seized the small, kangaroo-like animals from Mitch Brisebois's farm.

His pair of baby wallabies, a gift from a friend in British Columbia, has increased by one, and there's another on the way.

His kids love the little critters, and so do local school children.

Brisbois went to the municipality to get permission to raise them. He thought he'd covered all the bases.

"We were very surprised," says Brisebois. "They're Canadian bred, they're not an endangered species, and they're legal to raise on farms."

That may be so in B.C. or Ontario, but not in Quebec.

Government conservation officer Benoit Levert says keeping these animals without a zoo licence is against the law.

Brisebois says he'll keep the wallabies at a friend's farm in Ontario while he applies for a zoo licence and tries to change the rules.