Source: Instagram/Sam Jones
A US hunting influencer has sparked a storm of controversy online after posting footage of herself capturing a wild baby wombat from its mother and manhandling it.
Sam Jones, who posts social media as samstrays-somewhere and promotes herself as a “wildlife biologist and environmental scientist,” shared the footage in an Instagram reel.
The video shows Jones running across a country road to catch the juvenile wombat, while an Australian man laughs as he films the scene.
She runs back toward the unidentified man holding the clearly distressed wombat, whose feet are dangling in the air, as the man an is heard saying,:“Look at the mother, it’s chasing after her!”
Jones’ Instagram account, which has been made private since the backlash, largely features images of her posing with dead animals she claims to have hunted.
The original Instagram reel of the incident was captioned that it was her “dream” to hold a baby wombat.
While the video does not show the mother and baby wombat reunited, the original video’s caption said “baby and mom slowly waddled back off together into the bush”.
At the time of writing, it was not confirmed where or when the wombat incident occurred.
All Australian native animals are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Penalties for animal cruelty offences vary by state, with fines reaching as high as $235,600 for individuals and $250,000 for corporations, along with potential imprisonment of up to seven years.
Outraged Aussies have reacted to the video on Reddit and other platforms fuming at her treatment of the protected animal and calling for her to leave the country.
“Cancel her visa,” one person wrote. “Deport these losers,” another added.
“It’s not just the entitlement, it’s the disrespect,” a Reddit user posted on the r/australia subreddit after the video was shared there.
“That her first instinct isn’t one of awe and gratitude to see this animal in the wild, but to rush in and greedily exploit the moment for personal gain — regardless of the trauma it inflicts on anything and anyone else — speaks volumes about her character. Absolutely shameful.”
US influencer slammed after shocking video emerges of baby wombat manhandled
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