An American influencer apologized on Saturday after an online video in which she snatched a baby wombat from its mother in Australia sparked outrage.
In the video she posted on her Instagram, Samantha Jones is seen holding a wombat joey and running from its mother on a roadside at night. The video captured an unidentified man laughing as he filmed the scene, with Jones saying, “I caught a baby wombat,” while the mother wombat chased after them, audibly distressed.
In response to the video, Australian authorities threatened Jones with deportation. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the video as “just an outrage,” suggesting that Jones should “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,” he said.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke also noted that immigration authorities were investigating whether Jones had violated her visa conditions. Jones voluntarily left Australia following the incident. Since her departure, Burke commented, “There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia.”
Jones said in her statement that she acted out of concern for the animal’s welfare and her own safety.
“I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me. The snap [judgment] I made in those moments was never from a place of harm or intending to steal a joey,” Jones said in her statement.
Jones further stated that she was “extremely concerned” upon finding the mother and joey wombats motionless on the road.
“As wombats are so often hit on Australian roads, I stopped to ensure they got off the road safely and didn’t get hit,” she said. She said she was also worried that the joey might be sick or injured because it did not move or run off. That’s when she decided to pick the animal up.
Animal welfare experts point out that the way Jones handled the joey, by dangling the animal by its forelegs, could have caused harm.
Jones said in her statement: “I did not handle this situation as best as I should have.”
Home Affairs Minister Burke said he does not expect Jones to apply for an Australian visa again.
The bare-nosed wombat is a marsupial found only in Australia.
