A U.S. influencer has drawn widespread fury in Australia, including from the country’s “outraged” prime minister, for filming herself snatching a baby hairy-nosed wombat away from its mother.
Sam Jones, who calls herself an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter,” was filmed picking up the helpless joey by the road and running across it to a car, while its crying mother ran after them.
She shared it with her 92,000 Instagram followers.
The man filming can be heard laughing: “Look at the mother, it’s chasing after her!” The video has since been deleted.
WATCH: Australians Vent Fury on U.S. Influencer Who Snatches Baby Wombat From Its Mom
Australia’s Minister for Immigration Tony Burke said the department is reviewing the video of Jones, also known as @samstrays_somewhere on Instagram, to see if her stunt violated the country’s wildlife laws, News.com.au reported.
“The department is now working through the conditions on her current visa and determining whether immigration law has been breached,” Burke outlined in a statement on Thursday.
An online petition supporting Jones’s deportation has received 21,000 signatures so far.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is the latest to criticise the influencer.
Albanese suggested Jones tries doing so with animals that “can actually fight back”: “Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there.”
The Wombat Protection Society said it was shocked to see the “mishandling of a wombat joey in an apparent snatch for ‘social media likes'” and wants the strongest possible penalty brought to bear.
A hairy-nosed wombat is seen relaxing at Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills, Australia. (Tricia Watkinson/Newspix/Getty Images)
“[She] then placed the vulnerable baby back onto a country road – potentially putting it at risk of becoming roadkill,” it noted in its statement, adding it remains unclear if the joey reunited with its mother.
Following the backlash, Jones, who has more than 92,000 followers on Instagram, made her account private.
Her current whereabouts are unknown.
Penalties for animal cruelty offenses vary by state in Australia. Some fines reach as high as $14000 for individuals and $157,00 for corporations. Offenses can also carry with them a potential seven year prison sentence, according to the RSPCA.
The wombat is the world’s largest burrowing mammal.
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