American Influencer Apologizes for Snatching Australian Baby Wombat

FILE - Otto, a Tasmanian wombat, waddles around the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo's newest exhibit in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
FILE - Otto, a Tasmanian wombat, waddles around the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo's newest exhibit in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
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American Influencer Apologizes for Snatching Australian Baby Wombat

FILE - Otto, a Tasmanian wombat, waddles around the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo's newest exhibit in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
FILE - Otto, a Tasmanian wombat, waddles around the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo's newest exhibit in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

An American influencer who sparked outrage after posting a video of her snatching a baby wombat from its mother while in Australia apologized 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, The Associated Press reported.
“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 judgement 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.
“There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,” Burke said after she left Australia voluntarily.
Burke said he did not expect Jones would apply for an Australian visa again.
The animal appears to be a common wombat, also known as a bare-nosed wombat. It is a protected marsupial found only in Australia.
Montana-based Jones claimed she became “extremely concerned” when she found the two wombats on a road not moving.
“As wombats are so often hit on Australian roads, I stopped to ensure they got off the road safely and didn’t get hit,” Jones said.
“However, as is seen from the video, when I walked up to them, the joey did not move or run off. I was concerned it may have been sick or injured, and made a snap judgement to pick up the joey and see if that was the case,” she added.
An unidentified man laughs as he films Jones saying: “I caught a baby wombat.” They both note the mother’s sounds of aggression.
Animal welfare experts said Jones could have harmed the joey by dangling it by its two forelegs.
Jones said she returned the joey to its mother and ensured they both left the road.
“I have done a great deal of reflection on this situation and have realized that I did not handle this situation as best as I should have,” she said.
“I have learned from this situation, and am truly sorry for the distress I have caused,” she added.



US Reports First Outbreak of Deadly H7N9 Bird Flu since 2017

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scientist measures the amount of H7N9 avian flu virus which was grown and harvested in an unnamed CDC laboratory in 2013. James Gathany/CDC/Handout via REUTERS
A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scientist measures the amount of H7N9 avian flu virus which was grown and harvested in an unnamed CDC laboratory in 2013. James Gathany/CDC/Handout via REUTERS
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US Reports First Outbreak of Deadly H7N9 Bird Flu since 2017

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scientist measures the amount of H7N9 avian flu virus which was grown and harvested in an unnamed CDC laboratory in 2013. James Gathany/CDC/Handout via REUTERS
A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scientist measures the amount of H7N9 avian flu virus which was grown and harvested in an unnamed CDC laboratory in 2013. James Gathany/CDC/Handout via REUTERS

The United States reported the first outbreak of the deadly H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm since 2017, as the country continues to grapple with another bird flu strain that has infected humans and caused egg prices to hit record highs.

The spread of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has ravaged flocks around the world, disrupting supply and fuelling higher food prices. Its spread to mammals, including dairy cows in the US, has raised concerns among governments about a risk of a new pandemic.

The strain that has caused most damage to poultry in recent years and the death of one person in the US is the H5N1.

But the H7N9 bird flu virus has proved to have a far higher death rate, killing nearly 40% of the humans infected since it was first detected in 2013, the World Health Organisation said, Reuters reported.

The latest outbreak of H7N9 was detected on a farm of 47,654 commercial broiler breeder chickens in Noxubee, Mississippi, the Paris-based World Animal Health Organisation said in a report on Monday, citing US Authorities.

"Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H7N9 of North American wild bird lineage was detected in a commercial broiler breeder chicken flock in Mississippi. Depopulation of the affected flock is in progress," the report says.

"The USDA (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in conjunction with State Animal Health and Wildlife Officials, are conducting a comprehensive epidemiological investigation and enhanced surveillance in response to the detection," it added.