US influencer who snatched baby wombat in Australia apologises

An American influencer who sparked outrage after posting a video of her snatching a baby wombat from its mother while in Australia apologised on Saturday, saying she had acted out of concern for the young animal’s welfare.

Australian authorities had threatened Sam Jones with deportation after she posted a video on her Instagram account of her running with a wombat joey in her hands from its mother on a roadside at night.

“I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me,” Jones, who also uses the name Samantha Strable, posted on social media.

“The snap judgment I made in these moments was never from a place of harm or stealing a joey,” she added.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the video of the young wombat being grabbed was “just an outrage”.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said his department was investigating whether Jones had breached the terms of her visa before she left the country on Friday.