Western Victorian is rife with mine shafts - a reminder of the region's rich gold mining history - and while many in townships now have infrastructure built over them, many in surrounding forests remain uncovered and can pose a danger to wildlife, humans and even unsuspecting pet dogs.

Last weekend, wildlife rescuer Manfred Zabinskas from Five Freedoms Animal Shelter abseiled down a mine shaft at Drummond North to rescue a helpless kangaroo.

The kangaroo, which has since been named 'Brad Pit', is just one of many animals - including echidnas, snakes and other creatures - which find themselves at the bottom of a mine shaft.

Many are not fortunate enough to be found and rescued in time as this particular kangaroo, who was found by two young boys who were exploring in the area.

Mr Zabinskas has been rescuing animals for decades, but said that this year he had already conducted more than half a dozen similar rescues - including for a pet dog and also for a snake.

He isn't sure why there have been so many this year - perhaps as more people have been out walking in nature - but he proposed a simple resolution to the problem: constructing fencing around dangerous mine shafts.

Related coverage: Is there a mine shaft underneath your house? Explore this map

Related coverage: Wildlife rescue takes a mental toll on volunteers

Related coverage: Wildlife warriors hope in national honour to create change on fire grounds

It would not need to be wildlife friendly fencing, as animals could still pass through and fencing immediately around a mine shaft would not block off habitat corridors. The fencing would simply need to be high enough so that animals such as kangaroos do not jump over it.

While there have been calls in the past for mine shafts to be capped or filled in, Mr Zabinskas does not want to see this happen as they are a part of the region's gold mining history, so believes inexpensive fencing would be a good solution.

"I don't want to see them completely disappear but fencing them off would be inexpensive and is not really that difficult a suggestion, I don't think," he said.

"When you consider the hundreds of thousands of kilometres of fencing that get replaced after bushfires, I don't think it's inconceivable to just start to systematically fence off all of the dangerous mines."

Mr Zabinskas also called on people to fence off mine shafts on private property, and that incentives could perhaps be provided for people to do so.

If an animal falls down a mine shaft and is not found, it can be a long and painful death. In Brad Pit's case, he was extremely distressed and had been scratching at the walls in an attempt to escape.

"It takes weeks to die. It's bad enough if they fall down there and are not severely injured only to die of starvation but imagine something breaking its leg and lying down there for weeks on end with major injuries and horrific pain, it's just too awful," Mr Zabinskas said.

A mine shaft rescue involves a lot of resources. Upon arrival, the animal's condition is assessed. Sadly, this often involves determining whether the animal is well enough to be rescued.

The next step is to sedate the animal by darting it with a tranquilizer gun, for the safety of Mr Zabinskas when he abseils down the mine shaft. If the animal is not sedated, it could panic and hurt either itself or rescuers.

While safety equipment is slid into (Mr Zabinskas is an experienced rock climber and accredited tree climber), the best path down into the mine shaft is ascertained.

Once in the mine shaft, the animal is given a quick look examination before they are carefully positioned in a bag and winched to safety.

The animal is then taken to the shelter in East Trentham to recover before being released.

Mr Zabinskas has performed rescues across the region, including within that very area before, and is always amazed at when an animal such as Brad Pit is found and can be saved.

Brad Pit is recovering well, though he will remain at the shelter for a while longer as his feet are quite swollen from the impact of landing at the bottom of the mine shaft.

Western Victoria MP Andy Meddick, a member of the Animal Justice Party, backed up the call.

"Open mine shafts are yet another example of a preventable threat to our vulnerable wildlife. My electorate of Western Victoria has many of them," he said.

"We have an opportunity to support and alleviate the great work of volunteer wildlife rescuers by simply covering up or fencing around mine shafts in Victoria."

Mr Meddick said the area the kangaroo was found is abundant with mine shafts and the government should not wait for a human to fall into a mine shaft to fix the problem.

"Kids exploring in the bush found this kangaroo, in an area abundant with exposed mine shafts. Rescuers like this are not an uncommon occurrence, and the government cannot wait for this to happen to a bush walker or bird watcher before they fix the problem."

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning is responsible for making mine shafts safe on public land.

Grant Hull, Regional Manager of Land and Built Environment said that if mine shafts on public land are brought to DELWP's attention, then it investigates the extent of risk and takes appropriate action to manage public safety.

In areas of high use public land, DELWP attempts to close off dangerous mine shafts by capping them or by installing barriers or fencing along with appropriate advisory signage.

"In areas where mine shafts are known to occur, advisory signs are posted to warn people of the existence of historical mining activity, including vertical shafts and horizontal adits," he said.

"However given the sheer numbers of mine shafts throughout Victoria, the public should pay close attention to their safety and stick to formed walking tracks."