Brinkley Davies Accused of Killing Kangaroo For Instagram Followers
Did this social media star, who has been accused of racism and mishandling donation money, also keep a kangaroo joey after killing it's mother to purposely get attention on Instagram? Some former followers suggest she has after noticing that Brinkley did not give the animal to a shelter or wildlife carer.
Social media celebrity Brinkley Davies has been accused by former followers of allowing a female kangaroo to die after accidentally hitting it with her white FWD in South Australia. They say the blonde surfer kept the joey as a pet instead of surrendering it to a wildlife carer because it would "look good for Instagram."
The 24-year-old is popular on the social networking site Instagram but has not gained a positive reputation outside of the photo sharing app. She has affiliated herself with organisations including Wild Ark, Oceana, Live Lokai, GoPro and Adrian Grenier's Lonely Whale Foundation.
She has recently been accused of racism after a photo of her surfaced online appearing to mock the slanted eyes of someone with Asian appearance while dining on Japanese food. Brinkley Davies was accused of sending the photo in an Instagram private message to a person identifying as Korean during an argument about the dog meat trade. The receiver of the image claimed in a Tumblr post that she had been bullied by the surfer.
Although no evidence has been provided to support the claim, former followers of Brinkley Davies have claimed in blogs and comments that they were suprised at how eager Miss Davies was to keep the "orphaned" joey, even going as far as to defy advice to surrender the animal to an experienced wildlife carer (in comments on her Instagram).
The Instagram model has a registered charity called the Balu Blue Foundation but it is not yet listed as an official partner for any wildlife care organisations. It is currently running a campaign called Clear Tides and is taking donations for further campaigns. A break down of expenditure of donation money is not provided on the charities official website.
Some claimed that while Brinkley Davies may not have purposely killed the mother kangaroo, she may have manipulated the experience to benefit her social media presence having had her images of the kangaroo reposted by large tourism accounts - the exposure has ultimately boosted Miss Davies' following to more than 100,000. Miss Davies has also created YouTube videos about the joey.
One user claimed that bolstering her social media profile was the only reason Brinkley kept the joey. Others were concerned she may not be able to properly care for the animal.
In the past, Brinkley Davies has been accused of mishandling donation money to her former charity Keiko Conservation, which has now been taken over by Hawaiian conservationist Natalie Parra.
Miss Parra claimed Brinkley Davies had fundraised money for air fares and personal expenses by using the Keiko Conservation logo, including raising money for an expedition to Tonga for whale research that never eventuated.
Her partner, Tyron Swan, who is a director of her charity Balu Blue, has been photographed mishandling stressed and dead sharks inside fishing nets in a move that enranged shark conservation groups on Facebook. He reportedly boasted about "tackling dolphins" in a Facebook post from 2015, accessible on his personal profile.
A direct message to Brinkley Davies about the allegations went unanswered at the time of posting and all allegations here are unverifiable.