US influencer breaks silence after snatching baby wombat from its mother, lashes out at Australian government

The controversial US influencer who fled Australia after snatching a baby wombat from its mother has hit back at the furor surrounding her stunt, claiming she is not a “villain.”In a furious statement posted to her Instagram page, Samantha Strable, also known as Sam Jones, suggested Australians were hypocritical in their treatment of native animals, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had wished her harm and the public backlash that followed her wombat video had put her life in danger.“Am I a villain? Things, dear reader, are not as they seem,” she wrote.“Over holding a wombat, thousands threaten my life.“Let me be clear.These same people ought to understand the reality of Australia today.

For the readers that are so angered by my mistaken attempt to help and that I am a hunter – do not be blind to your country.”Strable then says the Australian government allows and permits the “slaughter” of wombats in order to keep Australians fed.“Thousands each year are shot, poisoned to suffer and trapped legally.“Landowners rip up wombat burrows with heavy machinery, poison them with fumigation and shoot them whenever they can.“Quietly, of course, so as not to face the wrath that has come upon me.“Why, might you ask, do they kill them? Well, to feed you.“The landowner is trying to survive, to raise you the lamb for your dinner table … wombats get in the way of this.”The Montana-based hunting enthusiast fled the country on Friday morning following a furious public response to the video she posted to her Instagram page.In the video, she scoops up a baby wombat from the side of a road at night as its distressed mother gives chase.An Australian man is heard laughing in the background.Strable then holds the baby wombat up as it makes screeching noises.“OK, Mamma is right there and she is pi**ed,” Strable says before returning the baby to the side of the road.The location of the since-deleted video is not clear.Prime Minister Anthony Albanes...