Latest news with #WombatProtectionSocietyofAustralia
USA Today
17-03-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Influencer who sparked outrage by separating baby wombat from mother defends herself
Influencer who sparked outrage by separating baby wombat from mother defends herself Show Caption Hide Caption Wombat being taken from mom by Sam Jones gets reaction in Australia An influencer, identified by media reports as Sam Jones, posted a now-deleted video on her Instagram of her taking a baby wombat from its mother. An American social media influencer is defending herself after posting a video showing her separating a baby wombat from its mother while in Australia. Sam Jones posted two statements to Instagram Friday, claiming that she believed the wombat was sick or injured. "I was concerned it may have been sick or injured and made a snap judgment to pick up the joey," Jones wrote. "The snap judgement I made in these moments was never from a place of harm or stealing a joey." The influencer told the camera, "I caught a baby wombat," in the now deleted video while the animal started squealing. "Okay, mom is right there and she is pissed. Let's let him go," Jones said. The BBC reported Friday that Jones had left Australia. Australia's Home Affairs minister Tony Burke said "there has never been a better time to be a baby wombat," in a statement to the British outlet. Influencer attempts to shield herself from wombat outrage The Wombat Protection Society of Australia released a statement Wednesday slamming the "appalling" video made "for social media likes," adding that the influencer put the joey at risk of being harmed on the road. The video sparked a backlash from animal advocates and politicians. It prompted an online petition with over 20,000 signatures calling for the woman to be banned from Australia. In the second statement, Jones pointed the finger at Australians, saying "The Australian government allows and permits the slaughter of wombats. Thousands each year are shot, poisoned to suffer, and trapped legally." Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took a dig at Jones, according to Australian outlet saying: "Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother. See how you go there." Reuters previously reported that officials are also investigating the conditions of her visa to evaluate if immigration laws were violated. Jones is a self-proclaimed "outdoor enthusiast" from Montana who has more than 90,000 followers on Instagram.
New York Times
14-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Influencer's Wielding of Wild Wombat Incurs Wrath of a Nation
In times of tumult and uncertainty, a society can come together over resounding, unequivocal disdain against a common villain. This week, Australia, which is gearing up for a divisive election, found that antagonist in an American social media influencer. The woman — known as 'Sam Jones' from Montana on Instagram — snatched a baby wombat from near its mother at night from the side of what appeared to be a remote road. Then she ran back to her vehicle and held the marsupial up for a camera, as it wriggled and squealed. 'Mama's right there, and she's pissed,' the woman said in a video posted online. She went on to release the joey on the roadside in the darkness, illuminated only by her car's headlights. Australia's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, suggested that she try the same with a crocodile and see how that goes. 'To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage,' Mr. Albanese said. The indignation was bipartisan: Asked about the video by a reporter, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, called it 'a cruel act.' The minister for home affairs, Tony Burke, said officials would review the woman's visa to see if any immigration laws had been breached, and that any future applications from her would receive intense scrutiny. The government did not release her name but Australian news media identified her as Samantha Strable. The drumbeat of criticism included calls to deport the woman. On Friday morning, ABC Australia, the national broadcaster, sent out a news alert saying she had left Australia. The Wombat Protection Society of Australia denounced the video, explaining that human interaction could cause 'severe stress' to wombats, and that it wasn't clear from the short clip whether the animal had been reunited with its mother. 'A baby of this size is highly dependent on its mother, and prolonged separation could have fatal consequences,' the group said in a statement. The influencer's account, which describes her as an outdoor enthusiast and hunter, has been made private. An older video of her holding an echidna, another animal unique to Australia, drew further criticism. An apology was posted in a newly created account on TikTok under a similar username. 'I'm really sorry about the wombat incident,' she wrote. 'It was a mistake.' In a subsequent post she said that she was getting hundreds of death threats for having picked up the animal. She did not respond to requests for comment. In an email, Mark Heinz, a reporter for the Wyoming-based Cowboy State Daily, said he believed the woman in question was indeed Ms. Strable, whom he had interviewed in 2023 about her enthusiasm for hunting. Ms. Strable responded to his attempt to reach her this week only by saying she would have an official statement forthcoming, Mr. Heinz said. In the interview with Mr. Heinz, Ms. Strable, then a resident of Pinedale, Wyo., recounted her adventures of having hunted red stag in Chile with a bow and killed pigs and wallabies in New Zealand. She said that she was next attempting to trap a Wyoming black bear. She described herself as a wildlife biologist who works seasonally, and spends winter months in the southern hemisphere. Detailing her pig hunting experience in New Zealand, in which dogs corner wild pigs allowing for the hunter to plunge a knife into the animal's heart, she said it was 'intense.' 'Honestly, I cried,' she said in the interview. 'I don't like killing. I like the hunting, I like the chase. It's not fun to see anything die.'
Telegraph
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Australian PM condemns influencer who snatched baby wombat
Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister, has condemned a US influencer who was filmed snatching a baby wombat away from its mother. Immigration officials are reviewing Sam Jones's visa following outrage over the video, which she posted to her 90,000 followers on Instagram. The now-deleted clip showed her picking up the animal, a protected species, before running with it to a car as its mother chased them. As she ran, a man off-camera could be heard laughing while saying: 'Look at the mother, it's chasing after her.' The video later showed her putting the wombat down and releasing it. However, Mr Albanese described the incident as an 'outrage' and suggested that Ms Jones 'take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there'. Tony Burke, the country's interior minister, confirmed on Thursday that his department was reviewing the influencer's immigration status and suggested she may have difficulty returning to Australia in future. He said: 'Given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I'll be surprised if she even bothers. 'I can't wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don't expect she will return.' TikTok apology Penny Wong, Australia's foreign minister, also criticised the influencer during an interview with the broadcaster Channel Seven. She said: 'It looked pretty dreadful, didn't it? Really, leave the wombat alone.' More than 22,000 people have signed a petition calling for Ms Jones, who describes herself as 'an outdoor enthusiast and hunter', to be deported. However, it is not clear if she is still in Australia and her Instagram account has now been set to private. The Wombat Protection Society of Australia also said in a statement: 'We are expressing shock and concern over the actions of a tourist who mishandled a wombat joey in an apparent snatch for 'social media likes'.' Ms Jones later issued an apology on TikTok, the video-sharing platform. She told viewers: 'Guys … I'm really sorry about the wombat incident. It was a mistake. I'm professional and all the people hating, it's enough. I learnt my lesson.''
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Australian PM condemns influencer who snatched baby wombat
Credit: @Samstrays_somewhere Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister, has condemned a US influencer who was filmed snatching a baby wombat away from its mother. Immigration officials are reviewing Sam Jones's visa following outrage over the video, which she posted to her 90,000 followers on Instagram. The now-deleted clip showed her picking up the animal, a protected species, before running with it to a car as its mother chased them. As she ran, a man off-camera could be heard laughing while saying: 'Look at the mother, it's chasing after her.' The video later showed her putting the wombat down and releasing it. However, Mr Albanese described the incident as an 'outrage' and suggested that Ms Jones 'take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there'. Tony Burke, the country's interior minister, confirmed on Thursday that his department was reviewing the influencer's immigration status and suggested she may have difficulty returning to Australia in future. He said: 'Given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I'll be surprised if she even bothers. 'I can't wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don't expect she will return.' Penny Wong, Australia's foreign minister, also criticised the influencer during an interview with the broadcaster Channel Seven. She said: 'It looked pretty dreadful, didn't it? Really, leave the wombat alone.' More than 22,000 people have signed a petition calling for Ms Jones, who describes herself as 'an outdoor enthusiast and hunter', to be deported. However, it is not clear if she is still in Australia and her Instagram account has now been set to private. The Wombat Protection Society of Australia also said in a statement: 'We are expressing shock and concern over the actions of a tourist who mishandled a wombat joey in an apparent snatch for 'social media likes'.' Ms Jones later issued an apology on TikTok, the video-sharing platform. She told viewers: 'Guys … I'm really sorry about the wombat incident. It was a mistake. I'm professional and all the people hating, it's enough. I learnt my lesson.'' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Influencer's theft of baby wombat from mother sparks fury
A U.S. influencer has drawn criticism in Australia, including from the country's prime minister, for filming herself snatching a baby wombat from its mother. Sam Jones, a self-described 'outdoor enthusiast' from the U.S. with more than 91,000 followers on Instagram, posted a now-deleted video in which she can be seen taking a baby wombat from the side of an unidentified road and running toward a car as its mother chases after her. A man be heard laughing as the scene unfolds. Jones eventually released the distressed baby wombat, which hissed and screeched while in her arms, back onto the road, the video shows. But it was unclear whether the animal reunited with its mother. Jones' action sparked outrage across Australia, especially among conservationists, with some calling for her deportation over her treatment of the wombat, an animal native to Australia that is legally protected in the country. 'They are gentle, lovely creatures,' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters. 'To take a baby wombat from its mother and clearly causing distress from the mother, is just an outrage.' 'I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals,' he continued. 'Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there.' More than 18,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that Jones be immediately deported and barred from returning to Australia. 'Messing with Australia's beloved wildlife is not a joke,' it says. Wombats, which have large, blunt heads with small eyes and muscular necks, can grow to about 50 inches in length and weigh up to nearly 80 pounds, eating grass and roots of shrubs and trees. It is an offense to harm a wombat without a license from the authorities, according to the Australian government. The Wombat Protection Society of Australia expressed 'shock and concern' over the incident, stressing that the way Jones released the baby wombat put it at risk of becoming roadkill. 'A baby of this size is highly dependent on its mother, and prolonged separation could have fatal consequences,' it said in a Facebook post. Suzanne Milthorpe, head of campaigns at World Animal Protection Australia, said Jones' 'appalling' behavior might be illegal and called for maximum penalties if she is found to have broken the law. 'This is quite simply cruelty for the sake of cheap content,' Milthorpe told the Australian program '10 News First.' Jones said she 'carefully' held the wombat for a minute in total before releasing it back to its mother, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. 'They wandered back off into the bush together completely unharmed,' she wrote in a comment under her now-deleted Instagram post. 'I don't ever capture wildlife that will be harmed by my doing so,' said Jones, who made her Instagram account private after the backlash. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said authorities were reviewing Jones' visa and determining whether she breached immigration law. 'Either way, given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I'll be surprised if she even bothers,' he said in a statement. 'I can't wait for Australia to see the back of this individual,' he added. 'I don't expect she will return.' This article was originally published on
