A US hunting influencer who shared video of herself snatching a baby wombat away from its mother is being investigated for a potential breach of her Australian visa.
The footage, with scenes described as “callous” by the RSPCA and “pretty dreadful” by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, showed the Montana-based influencer Sam Jones grabbing the wombat joey at night as it was walking with its mother.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said it was “an outrage” Jones had separated the joey from its mother.
“Maybe she might try some other Australian animals,” he said at a press conference, when asked about the incident.
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“Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there. Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother. See how you go there,” he said.
Australian home affairs minister Tony Burke said he “can’t wait to see the back of this individual” after seeing the video.
Mr Burke said the home affairs department was “working through the conditions” on Jones’ visa to determine “whether immigration law has been breached”.
“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 the film, Jones is shown running down the road towards a parked vehicle, from which she is being filmed, while clutching the joey.
“I caught a baby wombat,” Jones says to the camera as the joey hisses and screeches.
“OK, momma’s right there and she is pissed,” Jones then says, as the joey’s mother moves towards her. Jones then puts the joey back by the side of the road.
The footage has been widely shared and condemned on social media.
The footage, which did not indicate any location information or when it was filmed, was shared on the Instagram account “samstrays_somewhere” belonging to Jones, an “outdoor enthusiast & hunter”.
Jones had been sharing pictures and videos of her trip around Australia, including a video of her picking up an echidna at an unknown location and showing it to the camera.
But after the wombat video went viral, attracting strong criticism, the account has been turned to private. A TikTok account with the same handle was also deleted.
Australia has three wombat species, two of which are threatened.
The species caught by Jones was identified by one expert as a common wombat, also known as a bare-nosed wombat, which are not threatened.
Jones has defended her actions, saying she did not harm the joey and only held it very briefly, according to news.com.au.
“For everyone that’s worried and unhappy, the baby was carefully held for ONE minute in total and then released back to mum,” she wrote.
Dr Di Evans, a senior scientific officer at RSPCA Australia, said the video showed a “blatant disregard” for native wildlife.
“The distress caused by the callous act is obvious with the joey screeching for their mother and the mother being extremely anxious,” she said.
“Removing a joey from their mother is extremely distressing and any separation is harmful. The video shows this strong maternal bond.”
Evans said there were “many appropriate ways” that tourists could observe the country’s beautiful wildlife through reputable and licensed zoos and sanctuaries.
When Wong was asked about the footage on Seven’s morning television show Sunrise, she described it as looking “pretty dreadful”.
“I think everyone who would have seen that would have thought, look leave the baby wombat alone, leave it with its mum,” Wong said.
A spokesperson for the federal environment department said it had been notified about the footage but would not comment while inquiries were ongoing. - Guardian
