Canberra : Reutrs-Tourists and visitors to the Australian state of New South Wales will not be allowed to hug koala bears much longer.
Koala bears are furry leaf-eating marsupials which live only in Australia. But koala are not as strong as Australia's other popular marsupial, kangaroos. The state of New South Wales want to ban koala hugging because it distresses animals.
New South Wales will ban koala hugging in zoos and wildlife park from January 1997. Tourist will still be allowed to pat koala.
Koala cuddling is very popular with big-spending Japanese tourists so tour operators fear that many tourists will prefer to go to other states instead of New South Wales because they want to hug cuddly bears.