'It's their safety, it's their home': Saskatoon woman sews pouches to nurse Australian animals

SASKATOON -- Saskatchewan residents are lending a hand to help animals affected by the Australian wild fires.

Sewers like Cheryl Stone are crafting pouches to help nurse animals, who have lost their mothers, back to health.

"That pouch, it's their safety, it's their home and their mothers aren't there," Stone said.

"There are lots of carers in Australia who are helping with the animals and they need pouches for them to live in while they're growing," she said.

The Canadian Animal Rescue Craft Guild is looking for donations to cover the cost of shipping and says the cost to ship one box of crafts could cost upwards of $300.

"There's one ship on the 23rd and then I'm planning to have one more ship date at the beginning of February," she said.

Stone and other sewers, crocheters and knitters are also crafting nests, sweaters, blankets, and mittens to provide to the animals.

The fires have killed an estimated one billion wild animals.

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  This photo taken in early January, 2020, and provided Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, by Dana Mitchell from the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park shows a rescued koala injured in a bushfire in Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Devastating wildfires over recent days have undone decades of careful conservation work on Kangaroo Island and have threatened to wipe out some of the island's unique fauna altogether. (Dana Mitchell/Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park via AP)

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  Saskatoon resident Cheryl Stone is crafting pouches to help nurse animals who have lost their mothers back to health. (Saron Fanel/CTV Saskatoon)