While Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) reports Victoria has a thriving koala population, Ballarat Wildlife Rescuers and Carers say otherwise, reporting the numbers of injured koalas had increased in the region due to greater road traffic and habitat loss.

As a result, one Western Victorian MP is calling upon the state government to fund a specialised koala hospital in the area.

Andy Meddick says a hospital is very much needed due to declining koala numbers in the Ballarat region as a result of habitat loss due to increased logging in the area.

"What I've called for in the state budget is for a dedicated koala hospital, so that koalas can be treated and returned to habitat, but also for research to be done into the right amount [of koalas] and numbers that are actually living in the area," Mr Meddick said.

"Small pockets of populations that are surviving up there are now being moved around or are having their habitat cut down so we're seeing larger numbers of them trying to cross roads to get into safer places.

"We're seeing them being hit by cars as a result, and being taken to different wildlife carers who are feeling very much under pressure and out of their depth because they're just not necessarily capable of providing veterinary care."

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Wildlife rescuer, carer and Ballarat local Jessica Robertson said a specialised koala hospital is long overdue.

"We needed it years ago; koalas are now endangered in most parts of Australia and it's no different here," Ms Roberston said.

"Most of our rescues are after hours and on weekends, and no vet in Ballarat sees wildlife after hours so this is the dilemma that we face."

In 2021, Ms Robertson alongside other carers in Ballarat rescued 24 koalas.

Sadly, of those 24, 14 died from their injuries.

She said other than Werribee Zoo, which is roughly an hour and a half journey from Ballarat, there is no other wildlife facility able to assist injured koalas.

"They're most vulnerable at dusk and dawn when they're crossing and when they're hit by cars they need emergency care and our nearest facility is 150 kilometres away and you just have to put that in perspective for our volunteers," Ms Robertson said.

Mr Meddick has said his decision to choose Ballarat as the home of a specialised koala hospital is due to the region's proximity to Western Victoria.

"While it's not necessarily directly central to Southwestern Victoria, it is easily accessible from other parts of Western Victoria."

He has also hinted at creating the hospital near the Ballarat Wildlife Park in Ballarat East.

"We'll be looking for someone that has infrastructure in place already," Mr Meddick said.

"However, we're open to what the department, the minister and local carers feel is the most appropriate."

Ballarat Wildlife Park managing director Greg Parker said he believes Mr Meddick's proposal to build the hospital at the park is "strategic".

"We have the skills for the husbandry for koalas, we have the setup and we have the gum supplies," Mr Parker said.

"We've been keeping koalas now for over 35 years and we've been exceptionally successful with our breeding program over the years.

"We're only a small operation, but we believe we have a lot to offer."

Specifically, Mr Meddick is asking for $77,000 to build a multipurpose hospital.

"It doesn't take a huge amount of money to care for wildlife or individual species, it just takes the investment," Mr Meddick told The Courier.

If reelected, Mr Meddick said he would be pushing the Victorian government for funding for wildlife hospitals across the state.

"There's a real hole there that needs filling for better care and understanding of wildlife," he said.

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