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 proven 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.

1) The Australian government ‘allows and permits the slaughter of wombats’

2) Wild animals are shot from helicopters, and 3) they’re ‘not afforded a swift death’

4) Millions of animals slaughtered for profit and 5) Kangaroos sold as human and pet food

6) The ‘Prime Minister wishes me harm’

Singer reckons Jones, who describes herself online as an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter”, might have a couple of points. Harvesting kangaroos for commercial gain or to reduce their competition for pasture is, in his view, “inexcusable”. He notes the destruction of wombats is far less widespread, and the culling of pest species when they damage native habitats is sometimes an unfortunate necessity.

Besides, says Singer, going by the images she posts of herself posing with the carcasses of her kills, Jones “seems to be somebody who thinks that it’s fine to regard animals as trophies that you kill”.

Singer believes people tend to carry within themselves a hierarchy of animals for which they feel concern. Lions are high on that list today, as are visibly distressed baby wombats. Singer has long argued that all animals with the capacity to feel fear or pain should be cared for equally.

Jones may well have accurately identified hypocrisy in the outrage directed at her, but perhaps missed it in herself. Those who have wished her harm since the video came to light, Singer suspects, are guilty of it too.

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