A US hunting influencer who sparked rage in Australia after grabbing a baby wombat from his mother says that the incident is apologetic, but was trying to ensure its safety by removing it from the road.
Sam Jones said Friday morning that Home Minister Tony Burke was checking whether immigration officials violated the terms of the visa.
Early Saturday morning, she posted a 900-word statement on her Instagram account, claiming that she was subject to thousands of death threats and that the government questioned the rage of the country “allowing and allowing the wombat massacre.”
It is a crime to injure Australian wombats unless they get permission from the government.
She also opposed the murders of kangaroos and Brumby.
When she spots a wombat on the road, Jones says she is “very worried” and stops them from being attacked by the car.
When she walked to the baby and it didn’t move, she thought it might have been sick or injured so she decided to pick up a wombat to check.
“I ran. Rather than pulling Joey away from her mother, she might attack me out of fear. The snap judgment I made at these moments wasn’t from where I was harmed or stolen Joey.
“I was incredibly excited to see such a great animal, but I saw it right away and quickly returned to my mother. I made sure my mother and Joey were reunited and left together and they had gone down the road.
“I have a lot of regrets about this situation and I have realized that I am not dealing with it the best.
She argued that the incident was not merely confused because of the content.
“This is social media and likes!
“This was not being staged and not for entertainment. Amid my excitement and concern, I acted too quickly and then failed to provide the audience with the necessary context online.”
Burke, who is also immigration minister, said Thursday that he “cannot wait to see this individual’s back,” and that authorities “work through conditions” on Jones’ visas to determine whether or not the immigration law was violated.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Jones’ actions were “anger” and suggested that they should try to “take the baby crocodile from their mother and see how you can get there.”
RSCPA Australia said the footage shows a “blatant neglect” of native wildlife, revealing the pain of Joey and his mother caused by “cold conduct.”
