Sam Jones, the influencer who extracted WBAT, leaves Australia: NPR

The Australians celebrate the departure of the American influencer who has separated his mother, as concerns about the welfare of the animal continues.

Sam Jones, who is enthusiastic outdoors -based Montana, with more than 91000 Instagram followers Dru completion this week when it was Publish a video From herself she kidnapped the infant off the side of the road in the dark of the night.

While she was running to her car, carrying WBAT through her front legs, her mother can see her heading towards them – the fact that the man behind the camera indicates laughter.

“I was caught on a baby,” says Jones enthusiastically. “Well, Mama is there, and she is angry.”

The video ends after several seconds with Jones’s invitation to the mother – who is no longer on the horizon – and the child is deposited on the side of the road, alone and in the dark.

Since then, Jones deleted the video and made her own for her own – but not before the clip spread on social media, which led to the anger of Australian viewers, wildlife groups and senior politicians.

“To take a baby from her mother and clearly cause distress from the mother is just anger,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albaniz He told reporters Thursday. “I suggest this alleged effect, maybe some other Australian animals may try. Take a crocodile of his mother and see how you go there, take another animal that can resist … See how you go there.”

In the days after Jones’s video decreased, calls grew to be deported and even banned from the country – one in this way Seam online I got more than 38,000 signatures. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Tony Burke, said that his office is reviewing the terms of the Jones visa, to determine whether it had been violated.

And he said to Australian broadcasting company. “I can’t wait until Australia sees the back of this individual.”

The Australian government announced on Friday that Jones voluntarily left the country.

“There was no better day to be an infant in Australia,” Burke said in a statement. Associated Press.

Jones apologizes and deviates

Jones addressed the controversy in two prolonged statements Instagram pageHe said that “I realized that I did not deal with this situation with the best of what I should” and “I am really sorry for the distress that I caused.”

She said that she came to my mother and air on the road and went to ensure that they got out of traffic, but we were concerned when Joy and “a sudden judgment” were issued to receive him and know if he was injured. She said that she only escaped from the mother “fear of attacking me” and “ensuring that the mother and Joy did not reunite, exploded together, and that they left the road.”

“I want to explain completely that this was never about social media or to get likes,” I wrote. “This was not organized, and this was not done for entertainment. In excitement and anxiety, she acted very quickly and then failed to provide the necessary context for viewers online.”

It hit a more defensive tone in The second jobAccusing the Australian government of allowing the slaughter of thousands of wombats – and other animals – every year for land owners, “to feed you.”

Wombats are protected species in Australia, but some local governments Points can be issued To execute land management purposes.

She wrote: “Although the Prime Minister wants to harm me to capture him from the alummers, I ask you to take well, difficult, look at what is currently going on in Australia surrounding the real issues you face … Then decide for yourself if you are, someone who is certainly makes mistakes, I am really in your case.”

Wildlife groups say they may have broken the law

Multiple wildlife groups said that Jones’s actions not only crossed a line, but also broke the law.

Environmental Protection Law and Preservation of Biological Diversity It makes it illegal To move or kill some animals, and different Australian countries – including New South Wales and Queensland – Prohibition of hunting or transportation of WBATS without a federal license. It is not clear where Jones in Australia filmed the video.

“The extraction of a child screaming from his mother is not only horrific, but it may also be illegal under Australian or national laws,” said Susan Meldorb, head of campaigns in Australian laws or national laws. Global animal protection Australia and New Zealand.

The group calls on the Australian government to investigate Jones’s actions, and “if it has broken law, and penalties for this obscene behavior and harm.”

OPP image is both dangerous

Even if it is not illegal, wildlife experts say Jones’s treatment with WBAT put them in constant danger.

“There is no clear evidence that Joy has been successfully collected with his mother.” Association for the Protection of Lumps in Australia. “The child of this size depends heavily on his mother, and the prolonged semester may have severe consequences.”

Four professors of environmental and animal science wrote in three Australian universities – Jolly Old, Del Nemo, Haile Stanard and Robert Davis – in a A detailed column in Conversation The wombat Joeys depends completely on their mothers for a period ranging from 18 months and two – one of the longest periods for any pod.

They said that the distress between the separate mother and the child is clear and destructive.

“When we interact with wild creatures, we boycott what they are doing,” they wrote. “This can harm the individual – often the group – by causing physical or psychological stress and changes in behavior.”

They also noticed that the accident appeared on the road, which increased the risk of a child by car, which is One of the biggest threats To wombats. Another major threat to species is GANGE, which is an infectious leather disease caused by mites that can be fatal if left without treatment – and may affect the people who touch them.

Academics said that Jones “was lucky to not injure” teeth and claws of WBAT, but “he can still get off with scabies” if he had scabies, because the two conditions are caused by the same mission.

They concluded that “if you cannot attract an audience with wildlife wonders without harassing a wild animal, it may be time to rethink your social media strategy.”

Wildlife experts emphasize that influencers and tourists – like anyone else – should do their best to appreciate nature from a safe distance and search for carefully moral ways to visit and volunteer with animals closely.

“If you feel sorry for this video like most people, I urge you to think about what you can do in your private life for love and respect for wildlife around you,” the volunteer program Kanimbla Wombats Books on Facebook.