The fuss was blown away after American tourists snatched baby Wombat from their wild mothers this week and were filmed sharing encounters on social media.
Sam Jones, who also went by Samantha Strable, sparked widespread criticism after posting a video of him driving into the car with a struggling wombat in his hand, and then sharing it with 92,000 Instagram followers. The video sparked international condemnation and many people called for her to be banned from the country.
A few days later, Jones voluntarily left Australia. Her departure follows another unrelated incident that is allegedly stole a young crocodile from a wildlife center in Darwin.
CCTV footage captured a man who was allegedly breaking into the zoo and taking alligators from the enclosure. According to the Australian cat coaque of wildlife, these two incidents occur very close and highlight an intrusive trend.
Talking to Yahoo News, Coake explained that both travelers and Australians are increasingly exploiting animals for social media content, often prioritizing viral moments over the welfare of the creatures involved. She noted that people are increasingly encouraged to deal with living animals.
“That’s definitely an increase in the prevalence,” she said, calling for government intervention. “It’s happening and requires more severe penalties, but not only that, we need to enforce the existing penalties that we have.”
Wildlife volunteers desperately seek government funding
Coake highlighted the need for authorities to invest more in wildlife conservation and expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to act. “I’m tired of hearing politicians say, ‘I want to do this because I want to protect these animals.’
When animals are illegally ingested from the wild, the financial burden lies in a “rich” wildlife volunteer system, and in many cases, tens of thousands of dollars have to be spent relocating the animals. “We’re basically left to pick up the artwork,” Koake said.
“And that’s if we can just find these animals,” she continued, saying the government must take more critical action and urged them to impose harsher penalties for wildlife crimes.
“The government needs to take action and they need to descend more violently and more violently on animals, especially wildlife, those who commit crimes.”
Koake also emphasized that cruelty towards wildlife is becoming “incredibly common,” adding that it would not be the responsibility of rescuers seeking more severe punishment.
“It should not be on us to start caring for them to push forward the government, which has the actual obligation to care and ownership of these animals,” she said.
Wildlife theft continues to grow in Australia and around the world, with animals being exploited for social media fame, illegal pet trade and sometimes for sale to the highest bidders.
In addition to the trauma caused by animals, these effects risk the delicate balance of the ecosystem, which can be cruel and “very dangerous.”
When discovered on social media, Coake reported the content to authorities and urged the public to refrain from sharing it. By reporting and not sharing content, she said, people can play an important role in putting an end to this exploitation.
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