It took three hours for Craige Sherwood to find someone to help save the marsupial who had been hit by three cars — none of which had stopped to help it.

“I went to him and he wasn’t breathing,” Mr Sherwood said.

“So I gently took him to the edge of the road for my safety as much as anything and started to give him chest compressions.

“I held his head back and his chest started to move but he lasted not even a minute.

“I started the compressions again and he gave a good old stretch with his arms, went into the foetal position and kept breathing.”

But relief soon turned to frustration.

Having found the koala near Beechworth, Mr Sherwood and his wife drove home to Albury and sought help only to find that wildlife rescue groups in NSW couldn’t take the animal as it had been found in Victoria and they would have been breaching state laws.

EDITORIAL:  Wildlife care a worthy issue

Eventually Mr Sherwood contacted Kangaloola Wildlife Shelter in Yackandandah.

“Handsome Craige” is now making a full recovery.

“They took him in and he’s well and truly on his way to a good life,” Mr Sherwood said.

“They do a wonderful job out and they’re always looking for people to help them.”

WIRES Murray River branch chairwoman Christine Fowler said carers found the situation frustrating.

“I would still like to get that agreement formalised between the two state governments so that we are not, and the general public is not, breaking laws which don’t make allowances for living on the Border,” she said.

“For me, I don’t care if people ring us where the animal came from but I see WIRES has a responsibility to follow legislation and get the animal to the correct place.

“The issue is further along the river in places like Moama where there is no WIRES carer, but a volunteer in Yarrawonga. They’re not allowed to take an injured animal from NSW.

“While here in Albury we can deal with it — further away it becomes a problem.

“Our role is to look after injured or orphaned wildlife as a priority yet we still have to follow legislation and get the animal to the right place.”

An agreement between the states would make wildlife carers’ jobs on the Border much easier, she said.