Australian officials said, “There has never been a better day” after an American influencer who posted a video of herself disrupting innocent wildlife was confirmed to have left the country.
Sam Jones, a hunting influencer from Montana, left sometime on Friday, March 14, after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke publicly announced that immigration authorities were investigating the incident as a potential breach of the conditions of her visa, The Guardian reports.
The young woman recently posted a video of herself wrenching a baby wombat from its mother and running off down the road with it swinging precariously between her hands. The baby could be heard screeching while its mother followed frantically along, and the clear distress of the animals immediately drew backlash over what RSCPA Australia called a “callous act” and “blatant disregard” for the country’s wildlife.
@gma American influencer Sam Jones is sparking backlash overseas after posting a video appearing to show her taking a baby wombat from its mother in Australia. #news #influencer #wombat #australia
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A petition calling for her deportation and ban from the country reached nearly 40,000 signatures by the time of writing, but the publication reports that Jones elected to leave on her own.
“There has never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,” Burke said in response to the news, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested that Jones should try and “take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there,” per The Guardian.
Underneath the petition, the authors pointed out that the intent was “NOT a witch hunt.”
“…we do not support anyone taking matters into their own hands,” it added. “This petition is to send a message to Australian politicians and legal officers to not let this case go.”
“Just because intent for harm was not meant does not mean harm did not happen,” a commenter pointed out. “It’s time for people to understand actions have consequences.”
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