Influencer Who Stole Baby Wombat Criticizes Australian Government amid Ongoing Backlash

The American influencer who faced backlash after taking a babe wombat from its mother in Australia sent a connection to quality viewers aft failing to look for a scheduled on-air interview.

Sam Jones — who has implicit 96,000 followers connected Instagram — was reportedly scheduled to look connected Australia's Channel 10 speech bid The Project on Sunday, March 16, but she canceled astatine the past minute. The show's host, Hamish Macdonald, explained that she backed retired of their interrogation portion discussing Jones' caller Instagram connection apologizing for the controversy.

In Jones' original, since-deleted video, she was seen picking up a babe wombat connected the broadside of a acheronian roadworthy astatine nighttime and moving distant with it arsenic it dangles from her grasp. Local quality outlet 10 News First captured footage of her wildlife interference that sparked planetary outrage.

Related: Influencer Faces Backlash for Stealing a Screaming Baby Wombat from Its Mom successful Controversial Video

Instead of taking the scheduled call, Macdonald said the influencer — who antecedently referred to herself arsenic a "wildlife biologist and biology scientist" connected Instagram — sent a video statement. In the video, Jones began by "taking responsibility" for her actions, erstwhile again admitting she made "an unthinkable mistake" which she's regretted since.

"However, there's thing overmuch bigger astatine play here, and it would beryllium a disservice to disregard it. If this concern has proven anything, it's proven that Australians attraction profoundly astir their wildlife, and that is thing I intensely admire," Jones said. She continued to allege that each year, "the Australian authorities issues permits for the sidesplitting of thousands and thousands of wombats crossed Australia, on with millions of Kangaroos."

She directed viewers to her X relationship @AustraliaCulls, which is presently restricted connected the societal media platform. Jones said that she had shared "never-before-seen photos" of the country's wide "culling operations."

"The aforesaid authorities that is calling for my caput is that 1 that spends millions of your taxation dollars to wide slaughter autochthonal Australian animals, arsenic good arsenic the Snowy River and Kosciuszko brumbies, chaotic pigs and galore cervid species," she concluded.

Related: Influencer Who Stole Baby Wombat from Its Mom Releases Apology Statement: 'Truly Sorry for the Distress I Have Caused'

Jones antecedently called retired the authorities successful her Instagram connection shared connected Friday, March 14. After apologizing and attempting to explicate her actions seen successful the video, she likewise alleged that Australian authorities were "permit[ting] the slaughter of wombats." She singled retired Australia's premier curate Anthony Albanese for his effect to her implicit the incident.

“While the premier curate wishes harm connected maine for picking up a wombat, I implore you to instrumentality a good, hard, look astatine what is presently being done successful Australia surrounding the existent issues it faces, the deficiency of powerfulness for tens of thousands of Aussies, and the attraction of its autochthonal wildlife,” wrote Jones, who has since fled Australia. 

To warrant her ain brushwood with the wombat, the archetypal fractional of her connection claimed that she picked up the wombat truthful that the carnal “didn’t get hit” connected the broadside of the road.

Related: Influencer Who Stole a Screaming Baby Wombat from Its Mom Leaves Australia After Facing Backlash

“When we recovered the parent and joey connected a road, not moving, I was highly concerned. As wombats are truthful often deed connected Australian roads, I stopped to guarantee they got disconnected the roadworthy safely and didn't get hit,” Jones' Instagram station reads.

“...When I walked up to them, the joey did not determination oregon tally off. I was acrophobic it whitethorn person been sick oregon injured, and made a drawback judgement to prime up the joey and spot if this was the case,” she continued. “I ran, not to rip the joey distant from its mother, but from fearfulness she mightiness onslaught me.”

Read the archetypal nonfiction connected People