The influencer who grabbed a wombat made bold claims about Australia. We fact-checked them
The international backlash against Insta-influencer Samantha Jones for grabbing a wombat joey from its distressed mother in what appeared to be a stunt for an online video, does not particularly surprise Professor Peter Singer, the sometimes controversial bioethicist made famous by his book Animal Liberation.
It reminds him more of the time Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist, sparked global outrage by killing a well-known and collared lion called Cecil in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park than the time Australia indulged a national temper-tantrum over Johnny Depp’s efforts to bypass biosecurity laws by bringing two Yorkshire Terriers, Pistol and Boo, into the country without declaring them.
Over the weekend, Jones published a long statement in which she accused Australia of hypocrisy in its concern for the welfare of animals, citing the nation’s culling of feral horses, goats and pigs in national parks, harvesting of kangaroos and the permitted destruction of wombats when they have been proved to damage agricultural land or infrastructure.
The personality, also known as Samantha Strable, made several claims about animal welfare in Australia, including an allegation that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “wishes me harm” for his gag about a crocodile.
We fact-check these claims below, exactly as Jones published them, and add some broader context. Click on the bold text highlighted in yellow to see the analysis.
