Taylor Swift Criticized By Environmental Agency
Feb. 11 2010, Published 7:45 a.m. ET
Taylor Swift thought she was simply having fun, but her actions led to criticism by a government environmental agency.
The 20-year-old Grammy Queen is on tour in Australia and after her sold-out concert she went to a park in Melbourne and fed the possums.
Swift, who is the top-selling digital music artist in history, Tweeted the experience.
"Tonight the band and I played a show, then hopped in the van and headed to the park for some midnight wild possum feeding," she wrote on Twitter.
Sounds like fun, right? Not so fast. Her move upset Australian wildlife authorities, with the Department of Sustainability and Environment issuing this statement:
"We know people who feed wild animals often have the best intentions and that it is attractive to tourists who want to interact with Australian wildlife," a spokesperson said.
"However, DSE advises people not to feed wild animals... it can disrupt their natural behavior and it can cause some animals to lose their natural fear of people, making them vulnerable to attack."
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But other than that innocent mistake the trip has been a huge success for Swift and she’s even found time to do some shopping.
Staff at a trendy Melbourne boutique report that Swift bought two ancient Chinese birdcages and a lavish Indian silk cushion, on a shopping expedition.
"She also looked at a very old and very big wedding lantern, but she was a bit concerned about how she would get it home," a sales assistant said.
"She was absolutely gorgeous and seemed very sweet."