Influencer who snatched baby wombat leaves Australia

Sam Jones (also using the name Samantha Strable), the influencer widely criticized for grabbing and separating a joey from its mother, has left Australia, the office of Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has confirmed. Ms. Jones departed Australia on Friday morning.

Ms. Jones posted a video on Instagram showing her picking up a joey on an unidentified roadside and running towards the camera while holding the joey, with its mother chasing behind. The video showed the joey wriggling and squealing before Ms. Jones placed it back on the roadside, after which the joey walked back into the bush. Ms. Jones deleted the video after animal welfare advocates criticized her treatment of the joey.

Mr. Giles said on Thursday that officials were reviewing Ms. Jones's visa conditions to determine if immigration laws had been violated. On Friday morning, his office confirmed to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Ms. Jones had left the country. "It's a good day for wombats in Australia," Mr. Giles said. The ABC understands that she was not deported but left of her own accord. It is currently unclear where Ms. Jones has traveled to, but her social media profiles indicate that she resides in Montana, USA.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the video was "outrageous". "They are gentle, lovely creatures... I suggest this so-called influencer, maybe she should try some other Australian animals, maybe she should try a crocodile. Pick up a little baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go. Pick another animal that might fight back rather than stealing a wombat from its mother." Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also condemned Ms. Jones's treatment of the joey, calling it a "cruel act". "I'm very pleased that this influencer has now left," he said on Friday morning.

Wildlife experts from Western Sydney University, Charles Sturt University, and Edith Cowan University wrote in The Conversation that picking up a joey is "a bad idea". Julie Old, Dale Nimmo, Hayley Stannard, and Robert Davis wrote: "It is distressing to see a joey separated from its mother for social media content. This encounter would have certainly caused stress levels to spike for both the joey and its mother." Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) veterinarian Tania Bishop said Ms. Jones's actions could have caused significant distress to both the mother and joey. "The way she's grabbed the joey by its forearms could easily cause damage to muscles, tendons, nerves, shoulders and upper arms," Dr. Bishop said. "It's extremely distressing because we don't see if the joey is okay afterwards, or if there's any permanent damage."

In a now-deleted video comment, Ms. Jones said that the mother and joey "walked completely unharmed back into the bush". The four university experts wrote: "Catching and handling wildlife requires official approval. Engaging in these activities without the necessary permits is often illegal." Dr. Bishop said it is illegal to harm or capture any native Australian wildlife under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. "The only legal reason to do it is if there's a dead mother and someone has reasonable grounds to believe that a joey needs help or assistance," she said. "But there was no legal justification for her to do that in this case."

The ABC has not received any reports from any jurisdiction regarding charges against Ms. Jones. She uses the name Sam Jones on Instagram. She has not deleted her account, but she has changed the settings so that only followers she approves can see her posts. Her account, named samstrays\_somewhere, has over 90,000 followers. In her profile, she describes herself as a "wildlife biologist and environmental scientist," an "outdoor enthusiast," and a hunter. In another video posted on Ms. Jones's Facebook page, she was also filmed picking up an echidna. The ABC has been unable to confirm when and where this video was filmed.