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A US influencer who shared a video of herself snatching a baby wombat from its mother could also be kicked out of Australia after frightening widespread outrage.
Sam Jones, who calls herself an ‘outdoor enthusiast and hunter,’ was filmed picking up a joey from the side of the road during a visit to Australia and running over to her automobile, while its distressed mother chased after her.
‘I caught a baby wombat,’ Jones says to the camera because the joey hisses and screeches in obvious distress.
A person filming her will also be heard laughing: ‘Take a look at the mother, it’s chasing after her’
Jones poses for the camera for a couple of more moments before saying ‘Okay, momma’s right there and she or he is pissed,’ before putting the joey back by the side of the road and driving off.
The since-deleted clip has been widely shared and condemned on social media, prompting outrage even at the very best levels of presidency.
Jones now faces the potential of having her visa removed.
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese waded into the difficulty on Thursday, and suggested Jones try her luck with an animal that may actually fight back.
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‘To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother, is just an outrage,’ he said.
‘I suggest to this so-called influencer, possibly she might try another Australian animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see the way you go there.’
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the federal government was reviewing Jones’s visa to find out if she had breached any conditions of her stay, and suggested she may never be allowed back in Australia.
‘Given the extent of scrutiny that can occur if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers,’ he said in an announcement. ‘I can’t wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don’t expect she’s going to return.’
The Wombat Protection Society said it was shocked to see the ‘mishandling of a wombat joey in an apparent snatch for ‘social media likes’.
‘[She] then placed the vulnerable baby back onto a rustic road – potentially putting it prone to becoming roadkill,’ they said in an announcement, noting that it was unclear if the joey was reunited with its mother after being let go.
Jones has over 92,000 followers on Instagram, but has deleted the clip and made her account private following the backlash.
She has since defended her actions, claiming she didn’t harm the joey and only held it briefly, in response to news.com.au.
‘For everybody that’s anxious and unhappy, the child was fastidiously held for ONE minute in total after which released back to mum,’ she allegedly wrote.
‘They wandered back off into the bush together completely unharmed,’ she reportedly wrote. ‘I don’t ever capture wildlife that shall be harmed by my doing so.’
Although wombats usually are not an endangered species, experts have argued Jones could have broken Australian law attributable to a ruling which prohibits people from harming or taking native wildlife.
‘Wombats usually are not a photograph prop or plaything,’ said Suzanne Milthorpe, Head of Campaigns at World Animal Protection Australia.
In an announcement shared online, she added: ‘It’s just unacceptable, and we’re glad she’s being called to account. Snatching a screaming baby wombat from their mother shouldn’t be just appalling, it’s very possibly illegal under state or national laws.’
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