The US influencer who disgusted Australians by separating a baby wombat from its mother for a video has snuck out of the country with her tail between her legs.
News.com.au has confirmed that Samantha Strable, known online as Sam Jones, left the country this morning.
It followed a threat to review her visa.
“The department is now working through the conditions on her current visa and determining whether immigration law has been breached,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.
“Either way, given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers.”
“I can’t wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don’t expect she will return.”
A spokesman for Burke said he was glad to see the back of her.
“There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also blasted the American tourist, challenging her to “take another animal that can actually fight back” in an astonishing rebuke on Thursday.
“I suggest to this so-called influencer maybe she might try some other Australian animals,” he said.
“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. See how you go there.”
A Change.org petition was created in the aftermath of the recent controversy calling for the influencer to be banned from Australia.
“Samstrays_somewhere should be deported from the country immediately and banned from ever returning,” it reads.
Currently it has over 30,000 signatures.
On Thursday, foreign minister, Penny Wong, also criticized Strable.
“It looked pretty dreadful, didn’t it? I will leave those sorts of questions [about whether the influencer should be deported] to Tony Burke and to the authorities, but, really, leave the wombat alone. … I think everyone who would have seen that would have thought, leave the baby wombat alone. Leave it with its mom,” she said.
The clip, posted under the handle @samstrays_somewhere, sparked controversy when it was shared on Reddit by concerned Aussies.
In the video, the self-described “wildlife biologist and environmental scientist” can be seen catching the baby wombat on the side of the road during the night, while an Australian man records the incident and hysterically laughs.
With the baby dangling from her two arms, Strable runs across the road holding the visibly terrified animal, and the joey’s mother can be seen running after them.
“Look at the mother, it’s chasing after her,” the man is heard saying.
The influencer then holds up the baby wombat to the camera and smiles for a photo, captioning the clip that it was her “dream” to hold the native Australian animal.
She then returns the young marsupial to its mother, noting she is “pissed,” but adds in the caption that “the baby and mom were safely united.”
The video quickly received a barrage of backlash from many viewers.
“This is disgusting,” one wrote under the video, as another called for Strable to be “deported.”
The influencer, who has amassed 92,000 followers with her hunting content, initially defended her actions, claiming she did not harm the joey and only held it briefly.
“For everyone that’s worried and unhappy, the baby was carefully held for ONE minute in total and then released back to mom,” she wrote.
But the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) told news.com.au on Wednesday that the act could be illegal as all Australian animals are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Penalties for animal cruelty offenses vary by state, with fines reaching as high as $235,600 ($148,000 USD) for individuals and $250,000 ($157,000 USD) for corporations, along with potential imprisonment of up to seven years as a maximum sentence.
In NSW, people found guilty of harming wildlife face penalties of up to $330,000 ($208,000) under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, a spokesperson for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) told news.com.au.
There has been no illegality leveled against Strable or any charges laid.
WIRES Wildlife Vet Dr. Tania Bishop told news.com.au that the wombat in the video is a joey, likely around eight months old, and completely dependent on its mother.
“It would be with the mom at all times, relying on her for protection,” she said.
“When she’s running, it’s not supported underneath, and wombats are incredibly solid, especially in their back end, so there’s every chance she could have fractured the upper humerus, or the top of the arms, or caused damage to the shoulders.”
“You can see the joey swinging, but it’s also hissing and crying out, which is a sign of extreme distress. You can also see the extreme distress the mother is in, chasing her across the road.”
Meanwhile Yolandi Vermaak, who runs a not-for-profit wombat rescue organization, said on Instagram that the tourist “utterly disrespected Australians and our beautiful wildlife.”
“Why anyone would think it’s OK and even funny to inflict such terror on a baby animal and its mum is absolutely beyond me,” she wrote.
“I am so angry.”
She also called for Strable to come forward and reveal where the incident took place, stating she believes the baby wombat has an infestation of the mange mite.
The mites burrow under the skin where they deposit eggs.
This causes intense discomfort for affected wombats and over time, thick plaques that look like scabs and ridges form over its body.
“We need to do a welfare check and make sure that baby isn’t wandering alone out there. But more critically we need to get both mom and bub mange treatment,” she added.
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