Plush Koalas taped across NYC to raise funds for Australia Bushfire crisis

Koalas of NYC, a fundraising campaign to save wildlife in Australia has collected over $3,000. As a part of the campaign plush koalas, were hung on trees, telephone poles and other structures across New York City on Friday. Along with the stuffed koalas, there are tags which read, “1 billion of the world’s unique animals population has died in the Australian bushfires.” The signposts also have a scannable code for people who wish to make donations. 

The noble idea

The idea to place the toys and urge people to help the wildlife first came from the big apple outpost of Australian ad agency 'Cummins&Partners'. Dianne Villvieja, who is the agency’s operation manager said that their team in the US were absolutely devastated and wanted to help in some way which leads to the idea. A fundraising page was also set up by the agency which said that the donations will go to the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service.

Read: Anger Over Horrific Bushfire Triggers Remarkable Poll Slump For Australia's PM Morrison

Read: Ricky Ponting And Shane Warne To Lead Relief Match For Australian Bushfires

Read: Species Desperately Imperiled By Bushfires, New Plea For New Zealand To House Koalas

Read: Australian Army Vets Treat Koalas During Fires

Meanwhile, thousands of people have signed a petition for koalas to be introduced to New Zealand to escape Australia's devastating bush fires, but the proposal has been given the thumbs down by officials. A group calling itself the Koala Relocation Society said koalas were "functionally extinct in Australia" but could thrive in New Zealand which has nearly 30,000 hectares of land planted in eucalypts.