Why does it take the snatching of a baby wombat to spark outrage about animal rights?

An American influencer called Sam Jones has been roundly denounced after she posted a video of her snatching a wild baby wombat from its distressed mother in Australia.

The video, since deleted, showed Jones picking up a joey by the road and running with it to a car, while its poor mother ran after them. A man can be heard laughing callously as he films, saying: ‘Look at the mother, it’s chasing after her!’

Social media users, conservationists, animal rights campaigners, and even Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, have condemned Jones, who has now left Australia voluntarily amid calls for her deportation. It’s easy to see why so many people are so angry. There’s something especially painful and upsetting about seeing a baby animal and its mother being brutally separated.

If you feel that pain and upset, wait until you hear what happens on dairy farms. Mother cows are artificially inseminated and when they give birth their calf is usually removed within 36 hours, so the farmers can sell the milk that is meant for her baby.