US influencer, who snatched baby wombat in Australia issues apology; later asks 'Am I a villain?'

Sam Jones, an American influencer, who sparked outrage after posting a video of snatching a baby wombat from its mother, during her Australian visit has issued an apology.
In a video shared on her Instagram account on Saturday, she said that she picked the animal as she was afraid it would be hit by a car. The apology was, however, followed by a statement in which she asked Australians to ‘take a good look’ around.
Sam Jones, who has over 96,000 followers apologized for the 'distress' she caused. "When we found the mother and joey on a road, not moving, I was extremely concerned," she said.

She explained that her intention was not to harm or steal the baby wombat. "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. The snap judgement I made in these moments was never from a place of harm or stealing a joey," she added.
This comes shortly after Australian authorities threatened the influencer with deportation, as the video of the incident she posted on her Instagram account went viral.

Jones, who also uses the name Samantha Strable, removed the video after the outrage.
Check out Jones’ full apology letter below.
Following the apology, Jones posted another note on Mar. 14, which she described as her ‘official statement’ regarding the wombat incident. “Am I the villain?” she asked. She expressed that many were angered by her 'mistaken attempt to help' and saw her as a 'hunter'. "Do not be blind to your country," the woman said.
“Let’s start with wombats— The Australian government allows and permits the slaughter of wombats. 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 (sic),” Jones said in her statement.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had earlier criticized the woman for taking a wild baby wombat away from its distressed mother. In the statement, the woman further said, “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.”
Here’s the complete statement.

(Pic courtesy: Instagram/ samstrays_somewhere, iStock)