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Warning over Aldi customer's koala act: 'Incredibly stressful'

Concerns have been raised after a man was filmed pushing a koala in an Aldi shopping trolley.

The video, which appears to have been taken in Portland, Victoria, and was posted to TikTok by @cherrymaeferrer on Sunday, shows a koala sitting inside the trolley as a man walks past the entrance of one of the supermarket’s stores.

The end of the footage then cuts to the marsupial bounding down a nature strip on the side of a road.

"Only in Australia," Cherry captioned the clip with a laughing face emoji.

She later added that she decided to capture the moment because it was "adorable".

The man walking past the entrance of the Aldi with the koala. Source: TikTok
The video shows a koala sitting inside the trolley as a man walks past the entrance of an Aldi supermarket. Source: TikTok/@cherrymaeferrer

Despite a viewer claiming the footage was "super cute", a spokesperson for Wildlife Victoria told Yahoo News Australia the koala may have been agitated.

"The situation where a koala is being wheeled around in a shopping trolley tells us something is very wrong for that koala," they said.

"It would find that situation incredibly stressful.

"If someone sees a native animal that needs assistance they should call Wildlife Victoria’s Emergency Response Service on 8400 7300.

"A trained volunteer can be contacted to make an informed assessment of the situation on site. Cases of wildlife cruelty should be referred directly to DELWP."

The footage has attracted some backlash on Facebook, with some people calling it "totally inappropriate".

Yahoo News Australia has contacted Aldi for comment.

An Aldi spokesperson told 7 News that koalas are not allowed in their stores.

“While we always appreciate another customer, our stores are not the appropriate habitat for native wildlife,” they said.

“We’d encourage anyone who sees wildlife where they shouldn’t be to contact WIRES.”

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