Farming couple destroy Ooshie on TV after trying to sell it for water

A farming couple who tried to sell a rare Ooshie toy to buy water for their struggling farm have destroyed it on national TV in response to relentless online bullying they copped after listing it.

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A farming couple who tried to sell a rare Ooshie to buy water for their parched property have cut the toy up on live TV after an online backlash.

In response to the online bullying they received after trying to sell the collectible to help their farm, Victorian couple Melissa Kate Portingale and Stephen Black cut the toy — valued at $5000 — up on the Today show this morning.

“We are taking a stand against this online bullying, because I’m really passionate about this. It’s just not on,” Mr Black said.

“If we were on the edge like some of the farmers are that have taken their lives, because it got too much, this stuff may have pushed one of us over the edge.”

When Melissa and Stephen realised they had a 'one of a kind' Lion King Ooshie they advertised it for sale in exchange for much-needed water. Picture: Today Show

The couple from Katandra West originally tried to sell the one-of-a-kind Woolworths collectible Ooshie for $5000 on Facebook.

The toys have become extremely collectible in recent weeks with a frenzy of buyers offering large sums of money for the limited edition Lion King characters.

“People were just disgusted. The abuse started. Just hate and suicidal threats and yeah just some really awful things were said,” Ms Portingale said.

The toys have become extremely collectible in recent weeks.

One furry Simba toy was put up for sale on eBay on with an asking price of $10,000.

The couple removed the price and instead offered to trade the toy for water, explaining they needed it for irrigation. But the abuse continued.

“We’ve got a problem through the Murray Darling Basin with the water sift. That’s really more important to us than money at the moment,” Mr Black said.

“And I really couldn’t understand why that the item was worth so much money, but if somebody was so interested in that maybe they would be interested in what we needed and why, and the message might get out there.”

The couple received 4000 messages with offers anywhere from 20 cents to $25,000 but have no idea what was legitimate.

They have received a water offer which has come as a huge relief, but said they were so disheartened by cyberbullying they decided to destroy the toy.

“Your mental state at the best of times is really really stretched then you get the abuse on top of that. It’s very difficult especially when when we are just trying to do what we can to survive,” Ms Portingale said.