Aussie farmers fire back at American influencer’s insulting claims: We DON’T slaughter wombats

EXCLUSIVE

A vicious war of words has erupted between ‘wombat woman’ Samantha Jo Strable and harding-working Aussie farmers after she accused them of slaughtering the protected species by the thousands. 

In a fiery three-part rant posted on her Instagram page, Samantha Strable, who fled Australia on Friday, claimed the reaction to her divisive video had been hypocritical given ‘the Australian government allows and permits the slaughter of wombats’. 

‘Thousands each year are shot, poisoned to suffer, and trapped legally,’ the 24-year-old claimed in the fiery tirade.

‘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, the grapes for your wine, and the produce for your salads.

‘Wombats get in the way of this, through putting their holes and tunnels across the land, creating hazard for livestock, and turning up the ground to eat roots. The wombat knows no better, as it too, is merely trying to survive.’

But furious Aussie farmers have utterly rejected her claims – insisting they don’t indiscriminately massacre the protected species.

Len Price runs hundreds of cattle at his property at Mt Eccles in South Gippsland, Victoria.

The area is known as ‘wombat country’ and Mr Price said he sometimes jokes that there were more of the marsupials on his property than cattle.

But he said the majority of landowners only dispose of wombats if they’re causing serious problems by burrowing holes near or under structures – like homes or sheds – in the immediate living area.

He said landowners may also shoot wombats if they saw the nocturnal animals outside in the daytime, blind or covered in mange to ‘put them out of their misery’.

He said Samantha Strable’s claim that landowners killed wombats just ‘to survive’ was incorrect.

‘We don’t roam our properties, shooting wombats just because they dig burrows in paddocks,’ he said.

‘Let’s remember they’re a protected species. Farmers understand that they come with the landscape.’

But Ms Strable doubled down on her comments in a follow-up conversation with Daily Mail Australia on Saturday. 

‘Yes, Australia allows for the culling of thousands of them a year as an Agricultural Pest in at least four Australian states,’ she said when asked about her claims. 

The controversial US influencer sparked international outrage after she uploaded now-deleted vision of her running towards a car with a baby wombat swinging in her arms as she was followed by its clearly distressed mother.

But she claimed she had actually been trying to save the joey at the time and that Australians were ‘blind’ to realities of how their own country.

‘Am I a villain? Things, dead reader, are not as they seem,’ she wrote while addressing the furore on Saturday.

‘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.’

Ms Strable claimed it was ‘hypocritical’ for Aussies to look down upon her given millions of kangaroos were ‘slaughtered’ each year for commercial purposes. 

‘Millions are legally killed each year. Are they not deserved of government protection as native species?’ she said.

‘If you don’t believe me, take a look around the next time you go to Woolworths where you will see kangaroo flesh sold as both pet and human food.’

She also took aim at Anthony Albanese, who suggested she try picking up a baby crocodile or another animal who could ‘fight back’.

‘While the prime minister wishes harm on me for picking up a wombat, I implore you to take a good, hard, look at what is currently being done in Australia surrounding the real issues it faces, the lack of power for tens of thousands of Aussies, and the treatment of its native wildlife,’ Ms Strable continued.

‘Then, decide for yourself, if I, a person who certainly makes mistakes, am really your villain.’

Describing her now notorious encounter with the baby wombat, Ms Strable said she had made a ‘snap decision’ to try to save its life after finding it by the side of the road and fearing it was in danger. 

‘When we found the mother and joey on a road, not moving, I was extremely concerned,’ she wrote. 

‘As wombats are so often hit on Australian roads, I stopped to ensure they got off the road safely and didn’t get hit. 

‘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 this was the case. I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me.’

Ms Strable said she never intended to harm or steal the joey, and ensured the animal wasn’t injured before making sure it reunited with its mother.

In the footage, Ms Strable was seen running with the joey in her hands away from its mother who was clearly distressed.

Her Australian friend filming the encounter was heard laughing with glee as the baby wombat wiggled uncomfortably in her arms.

‘I have done a great deal of reflection on this situation and have realised that I did not handle this situation as best as I should have,’ Ms Strable said.

‘Regardless, my only intent was to prevent these amazing animals from being hit, and making sure the joey wasn’t in need of immediate care.

‘I have learned from this situation, and am truly sorry for the distress I have caused.’

Her post ended with the hunter insisting the video was not to get likes on social media. 

‘This was not staged, nor was it done for entertainment. In my excitement and concern, I acted too quickly and then failed to provide necessary context to viewers online,’ she said.      

Ms Strable’s almost-1000 word retort came within hours of her fleeing the country.  

Government sources revealed on Friday she departed Australia and is understood to have flown back to the US.

‘There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,’ Immigration Minister Tony Burke told Daily Mail Australia on Friday.  

The federal government began working to deport her after wildlife service WIRES said Ms Strable had violated Australia’s biosecurity and animal welfare laws, but she jumped before being pushed.  

But despite being an avid wildlife hunter – posting multiple selfies with wild creatures she has killed – Ms Strable tried to get a job with animal rights group PETA.

They rejected her application after a background check discovered she was an ‘avid hunter and carnivore’.

A second controversial video of Ms Strable also resurfaced on Thursday, sparking further outrage.

The clip showed her handling an echidna, which appeared to be in the wild, and showing it off to her almost 100,000 followers last month. 

Despite admitting in a 2023 newspaper interview that she thought hunting was ‘pretty gross’ when she was a child, Ms Strable went on to fall in love with it.

She changed her mind after doing a hunting mentorship program when she shot a deer and then tasted some of the cooked tenderloin from her kill.

Raised in Great Falls, Montana, Ms Strable was born into a Christian family with four siblings, all of them home-schooled but high achievers.

Samantha’s younger sister, Kimberly, stepped away from California Intercontinental University with a doctorate in Business Administration at just 17 years old. 

By 2020, Ms Strable was basing herself in Pinedale, Wyoming, for seasonal work during the northern summers, and then flying to the southern hemisphere to hunt during the northern winters.

Her adventures included killing a wild pig with a knife in New Zealand and stalking red deer with a bow in Chile.