About Flying Foxes

Flying Foxes 10/8/11

2011-08-09T13:12:00.001-07:00

Flying Foxes

A bat expert has blamed sloppy horse management for a number of Hendra outbreaks. Twelve horses have died in Hendra outbreaks across Queensland and NSW in recent weeks, prompting calls from political leaders and the community for bats to be culled. Bats are believed to transmit the virus through body secretions to horses, which can in turn infect humans. Dozens of people who came into contact with the sick horses are being monitored and will undergo three rounds of blood tests over 21 days before they can be cleared of contracting it. WWF bat expert Dr Martin Taylor said horse owners needed to heed better hygiene and horse management. "I think sloppy horse management [is to blame]," Dr Taylor said. "Horses are the animals that transmit the virus to humans, it's not bats. "Nobody is calling for a mass culling of horses are they? "The solution to rare diseases like this is good hygiene. "The bubonic plague was defeated by good hygiene." Horse owners are advised not to leave horses, food and water troughs near trees inhabited by bats.

Meanwhile, wildlife ecologist Dr Chris Tidemann has challenged the notion that bat numbers are in decline and should be protected. The grey-headed bat is listed as vulnerable to extinction under Commonwealth law and, in Queensland, it's illegal to kill any bat species as they are protected. "Over the last few years, there's been a steady increase in the presence of grey-headed flying foxes all over the place," he told ABC Online today. "Animals are not just camping [in new places] but dropping young [there]. "That's been happening all over the place, and that's a sign of an expanding population." But Dr Taylor said it would be devastating to Australia's rainforests to lift protections for bats. "Bats are very critical pollinators and food disperses, that's why they are so important to keeping our forests growing and healthy," Dr Taylor said. * AAP

Ed Comment; It was Chris Tideman who was responsible for the planned culling of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens Flying Foxes, but the cull was stopped by community outrage and political pressure. Tideman is an "ecologist" how likes to manage environmental issues by killing wildlife.

The State Government could face legal action for not removing disease-carrying bats from Queensland communities. Kennedy MP Bob Katter will next week announce plans to raise money in communities around Australia to bring legal action against the Government for failing to remove bats in communities including Charters Towers. Should anyone die or fall ill from the Hendra virus or another bat-related disease before the action is launched, Mr Katter plans to launch criminal action against Premier Anna Bligh under section 289 of the Criminal Act 1899 (Qld) for breaching "the duty of persons in charge of dangerous things". In a letter to Ms Bligh last Wednesday, Mr Katter warned he would be calling on groups from across Queensland to come forward and start raising money to force the Government to remove bats from communities. "If a human death or illness arises from the Government's rules laws (sic) and failure to act, such monies raised will be used to pursue whoever's breach of duty of care has resulted in whole, or part, in such human pain and suffering," the letter read. "Without the undertaking of any reasonable action to avoid this danger posed to human life, we intend to hold you, Anna Bligh, personally liable for the death, illness or injury occasioned by the presence of the flying foxes in areas where people live and work in North Queensland."

Mr Katter also sent a letter to Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney on the same day urging him to take a stand on the issue. "As Leader of Opposition we also consider that it is your responsibility to immediately outline to the people of Queensland what your party's position is on this matter. And its intentions with respect to federal LNP's Biodiversity Act, which Act has precipitated the flying fox protection extremes now endangering people throughout Queensland," it stated. The news comes after Liberal National Party members on the weekend passed a resolution to allow councils to move protected bats from communities. Lissner Park in Charters Towers has been home to an increasing flying fox population since 2001. LNP MP for Dalrymple Shane Knuth said his party put people's lives before flying foxes. The whole Charters Towers community wants it resolved," he said. The Townsville Bulletin contacted Ms Bligh's office for comment yesterday but did not get a response before deadline. * Townesville Bulletin

Ed Comment; for those who are concerned or interested in flying foxes, there is a very interesting article here ... http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/07/18/3270559.htm

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Did You Know? 10/8/11

2011-08-09T12:58:00.001-07:00

Did You Know?

There are four species of flying-fox that you are likely to see in Queensland with another two species living in the Torres Strait Islands and third, the bare-backed fruit-bat Dobsonia moluccensis, that only occurs in northern Cape York. There is also a mystery species, the dusky flying-fox Pteropus brunneus that is only known from one specimen taken from Percy Island off the central coast of Queensland in the 1870s. It has never been seen again and is believed to be extinct. The flying-fox family also includes four other closely-related species of bat. These are the blossom-bats (two species) and the tube-nosed bats, one species in Queensland and one from Moa Island in Torres Strait. *

Flying Foxes 10/8/11

2011-08-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

Flying Foxes

Residents driven batty by flying foxes have been raided by officials who seized air horns they had used to try to scare the bats away. Officers from the Department of Environment and Resource Management armed with search warrants raided a Gold Coast home yesterday. The long-suffering residents are being warned they face jail and $100,000 fines if they persist in trying to frighten off the flying foxes. The bust shocked and angered residents who accused the State Government of putting "disease-ridden" bats before people and called in lawyers to fight back. The raid came as communities across Queensland grapple with flying fox plagues and the deadly Hendra virus crisis. The raid followed Southport residents going public with their horn-blowing campaign in a desperate bid to rid their neighbourhood of thousands of screeching flying foxes. Robyn Burgess, who lives amid a large bat colony in an exclusive part of the suburb, said she was "dumbfounded" when DERM officials knocked at her door just after 8am yesterday brandishing a search warrant signed by a magistrate.

She and her husband Robert were forced to hand over air horns and a flyer they had made to advise neighbours where to buy the devices. "The officials were actually sitting outside my house when I arrived home from a funeral - they could have left a card but instead they turned up ... with a search warrant looking for 'evidence of the commission of an offence'," she said. The Burgesses and their neighbours resorted to using air horns after "trying everything" to ward off the flying foxes, including firing an air pistol. Mrs Burgess said she had no idea she was breaking the law until it was brought to her attention in a media interview earlier this week. "I was pretty speechless," she said. Mrs Burgess has called in lawyer Bill Potts, who described the raid as ridiculous. "Clearly, these noisy, defecating, Hendra virus and lyssavirus-carrying creatures are not meant to be in suburbia, especially in such large numbers," he said.

"This is Southport we're talking about, for heaven's sake. It's an inner-suburb of the Gold Coast, not somewhere out in the hinterland. The residents have been put in a position where they are powerless but, instead of trying to help them, the Government is threatening them with jail and fines." Potts Lawyers colleague Rob Franklin said the Government had failed to address the problem of bat colonies establishing themselves in the suburbs and the Hendra virus outbreak, responsible for the deaths of 15 horses and a family dog, made a solution even more urgent. "It's about balancing the interests of wildlife protection and public safety and unfortunately, that balance is out of whack at the moment," he said.

DERM last night confirmed a search warrant had been executed on a Southport residence "in relation to recent allegations of sound devices being used to interfere with a flying fox roost". The department's general manager of conservation, strategy and planning Clive Cook, said: "DERM will investigate this matter to determine whether further action is necessary." Robert and Robyn Burgess say they have spent more than $100,000 trying to soundproof their Southport home from the din of thousands of screeching bats. "We've put in commercial windows, insulation and airconditioning but still the noise and the smell persists," Mrs Burgess said. "They arrive about an hour before dawn and dusk every day. Winter's not so bad because they don't fly in until about 4.30am but in summer it can be as early as 2am. "The racket is unbelievable and I wake up every morning to see bats less than a metre from my window."

Mr Burgess likened the cacophony to "closing time at the pub but about a million times louder". "It's so loud it even drowns out the kookaburras," he said. The couple said the smell from the bats was "pungent" and potentially disease-carrying bat droppings were everywhere. "We have three cats and they regularly come in with bat poo in their fur," Mrs Burgess said. "Now there is the worry with Hendra virus, especially now that we know domestic pets can be infected." The Burgesses, who have lived in their Egerton St home for 19 years, say the bats moved in about nine years ago and shattered the peace of their once-tranquil neighbourhood. They contacted the then Environmental Protection Agency which said there was nothing that could be done. "We started using the air horns out of desperation," she said. *Courier Mail

A series of vigilante attacks against bats are being investigated by the RSPCA, including the lighting of fires to "smoke" them out. As the Hendra virus outbreak enters its third month, animal welfare groups are receiving disturbing reports of violence against bat colonies. The attacks have prompted warnings that residents confronting distressed flying foxes risked contracting lyssavirus. One woman, who asked not to be identified, said her family was furious after watching attempts by some locals at Gayndah to move stressed bats out of the township. "I've seen people lighting fires either side of the colony, trying to smoke them out. They shoot off these loud gas guns. I've also watched people walking into the area with big sticks," she said. An investigation has been launched into the death of an endangered grey-headed bat caught on a barbed-wire fence at Northgate in Brisbane's outer north.

Bat Conservation and Rescue Queensland president Louise Saunders said five men had been poking at the bat with sticks. "Its mouth was ripped to shreds and it ripped its wings as it got more entangled." The group also called in environmental officers to an incident at Regents Park in Logan City last weekend. Spokesman for the RSPCA Michael Beatty said inspectors would determine if the Northgate workers had attacked the bat or were trying to rescue it. Anyone bitten or scratched by a bat could be at risk of lyssavirus, he said. Southport residents near Gardiners Creek have tried air horns to drive away a colony but Environment and Resource Management officers warn they risk a 12-month jail term or $100,000 fine by causing stress to bats. * Courier Mail

Hendra Facts

Hendra virus can be transmitted from flying fox to horse, horse to horse and horse to human. While the exact route of transmission is not known, it is thought that horses contract Hendra virus by ingesting material contaminated by infected flying fox body fluids and excretions. There is no evidence of Hendra virus spreading from person to person or from flying fox to human. The scientific information available on the disease is not complete and research continues to learn more about Hendra virusparticularly about how it is transmitted from flying foxes to horses. While Hendra virus is present in flying fox populations, the risk of horses being infected is very low. Horses should be removed from paddocks where flowering/fruiting trees are attracting flying foxes. Horses should be returned only after the trees have stopped flowering/fruiting and the flying foxes have gone. If it is not possible to remove horses from paddocks, try to temporarily remove your horses during times of peak flying fox activity (usually at dusk and during the night). * Biosecurity Queensland

Ed Comment; If we lose the flying foxes, and we well might, the media, and especially the Courier Mail, will have played a leading role through their attempts to demonise these magnificent and important native animals.

New Hendra Outbreak

2011-06-29T16:31:00.001-07:00

Flying Foxes

The latest bat-borne Hendra virus outbreak has prompted renewed calls for a cull of flying fox colonies in the state. Scenic Rim Mayor John Brent, whose council takes in the affected area, said the State Government needed to urgently assess ways to protect horses by limiting or moving bat colonies. Cr Brent said the link between the bats and the fatal disease was known. "It's not sufficient to turn our backs on the root cause of the problem," he said. "Governments and their agencies were well aware of the cause of the Hendra virus and proactive action needs to be taken to address that issue where the bats are in some overwhelming numbers." Sunshine Coast horse owner Rebecca Day, who was exposed to Hendra virus last year, backed the call. "I don't believe they (flying foxes) should be protected. I do believe they are a pest and danger, not only to animals but to humans as well, and they should be seen as that," she said. "These are in plague proportions so I really think something needs to be done about it. "I'd definitely support some sort of cull or something to eradicate or move them." *Courier Mail Read more ... http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland

Flying Foxes 7/6/11

2011-06-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

Flying Foxes

A colony of bats and other wildlife that call the 3 hectare bushland near the Equine Precinct at Bundall on the Gold Coast home, will soon be evicted. The bushland will be cleared due to a perceived risk of Hendra Virus being passed from the bats to horses. But some believe this action will result in displaced and stressed bats being pushed into nearby backyards. If protracted it could become a major management headache for Gold Coast City Council and be responsible for the deaths of protected native flying-foxes when they are already suffering national population decline through habitat loss and climatic uncertainty. Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld president, Louise Saunders said, “The removal of vegetation and the dispersal of up to 2,000 flying-foxes, including the vulnerable Grey-headed Flying-fox is extremely concerning. Like most urban dispersals elsewhere, the action at Bundall could be a costly and ongoing problem for Council. It is likely that flying-foxes could end up in locations that are more difficult to manage, such as nearby residential backyards or in local colonies that are already causing conflict with residents,” Ms Saunders said.

“We are concerned that the public may get the wrong idea from this dispersal and misinterpret the health risk to humans. Humans cannot get Hendra virus directly from flying-foxes. Sadly, all human cases have been contracted from contact with horses. The method of transmission from bat to horse is still inconclusive”, Louise said. “This is an extreme action against bats when there is such a slight health risk to horses. We were especially surprised that this action would be considered, as a cost effective vaccine to protect horses has been successful in recent trials and is so close to being available to horse owners”. We would like to remind people not to handle flying-foxes. Like any wild animal that is frightened or in pain it could bite or scratch. We have trained and vaccinated volunteers. If anyone finds an injured bat or bats in their backyard during the day, please call our help line on 0488 228 134 or call the RSPCA on 1300 ANIMAL.

The vegetation removal and dispersal of flying-foxes is expected to take place within the next few weeks. Important information: Neither you, nor your pets, can catch diseases from having bats in your backyard or by living near a bat colony. Less than half of one percent of bats may have Australian Bat Lyssavirus, a preventable but potentially deadly disease. It can only be contracted from a deep bite or scratch from a bat. An effective vaccine is available. Our message is please don’t try to help an injured flying-fox, call for help. Any bat found alone through the day needs assistance. Please call for help as soon as possible.
For further information call (07) 3821 2341 B/H only. For rescue assistance call Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld’s rescue helpline on 0488 228 134. Visit our web site to find out more about these amazing mammals: www.bats.org.au Media release, Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld Inc.

A western Queensland family has been told it will have to wait for more than 10,000 flying foxes to finish breeding in their backyard before they can be moved. Barcaldine resident Brett Walsh estimates 12,000 little red flying foxes are living in his and his neighbour's backyards. He says they have been there for 14 weeks and nothing can be done because the females are having babies. Mr Walsh says he and his wife can barely use their garden but the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) seems more concerned about the animals' welfare. "Basically just completely confined to your house," he said. "They have a fact sheet, 'Learning to live with Flying Foxes', and that seems to be the attitude." He says he and his wife are worried about the hendra virus and lyssavirus. "We don't have any horses but there are horses around the town and I'm not sure how that would affect those people," he said. "We are more concerned about the lyssavirus, which can spread direct from bats to humans. "That disease is fatal - we don't want to see any harm to the babies but we just want them gone."

Mr Walsh says he and his wife even considered moving out of the home until the colony moved on. "There is a lot of bat faeces and urine, the smell - you can't do any activities in your yard like gardening or having a barbecue," he said. "Basically, you are completely confined to your house. "We don't want any harm to come to the animals but we want our lifestyle back and our house back." The QPWS says flying foxes are an important part of the ecosystem. QPWS spokesman Michael Devery says it is a matter of waiting until the young are independent before dispersal options can be considered. "If you've got young there and the mothers are dispersed, for example, then the young will just starve to death," he said. "At this point in time it has to go through that cycle of the young being able to be independent and then the animals will move on. "Little reds are nomadic, they don't stay."There is no doubt there is an imposition [but] these animals will finish breeding and they will leave the property."

Mr Devery says there are no horses in the area and other concerns can be managed. "Any known association with hendra [virus] has been through a horse," he said. "I am advised there aren't any horses at or near the property. "There are some discomforts when they are close to people. "If you take some basic precautions, and I guess the biggest concern people have is the health risk, so not get scratched or bitten by an animal and the way to do [that] is obviously not to touch them but ultimately these animals, they will go." *ABC

Queensland Flood Animal Appeal

2011-01-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

Sydney Pet Rescue & Adoption, has launched the Animal Flood Victims Emergency Appeal, and together with various other rescue groups, they are working hard to raise funds to support animals affected by the recent devastating floods in Qld. The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia is one of the organisations they have chosen to support with the Appeal. We will be using the funds they raise to support foster carers in the worst affected and priority areas, with financial support to assist with the rescue and foster care of wildlife. ……….We thank SPRA and all the rescue groups who are working hard with them, for their support…..

Please click on this link to find out more about the appeal: SPRA Flood Animal Appeal Here!

Flying Foxes Again 7/12/10

2010-12-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

Flying Foxes

A colony of flying-foxes has set up camp in Nambucca Heads’ Gordon Park, much to the chagrin of those living close by. The most likely explanation for the new guests was simply their seasonal hunt for food, National Parks spokesman Lawrence Orel said. Flying foxes have been known to travel hundreds of kilometres to find food, usually native tree nectar or rainforest fruits. “Flying foxes do tend to move around, they travel up and down the coast following the flowering of native species of plants,” Mr Orel said. Sometimes a camp would be forced to relocate if a location they had previously roosted in was destoryed. Flying foxes formed two kinds of camps: a ‘maternity’ camp, which was established and permanent, and a temporary camp, which existed only while there was a plentiful supply of food, Mr Orel said. Gordon Park was mostly likely a temporary camp, due to the small number of bats there. But there was every chance Nambucca would remain a regular site for flying-fox visitors in years to come. They were known to develop an affinity for certain camps, and would return to the same trees anually. Nothing could be done about the mess, noise and smell created by the camp, because flying foxes and their camps were protected under NSW legislation, Mr Orel said. Those in the neighbourhood must simply wait until the food supply ran out, and the flying foxes moved further afield. *Guardian News

Charters Towers residents under siege from a colony of bats are also faced with a plague of blood-sucking mites. Thousands of bats are roosting in Lissner Park as Charters Towers Regional Council remains locked in battle with the State Government over its plan to muster them away from the area using a helicopter. Residents say the creatures are noisy and disease-ridden, have destroyed the park with their droppings and created a foul stench in the area. The bats have also been blamed for bringing swarms of a small unidentified insect, described as similar to a tick, that latches on to skin to feed on blood. Mayor Cr Ben Calcott said the mites were an ongoing concern. In previous years, some workers had been taken to hospital to have the insects removed, he said. ''The mites adhere to their skin like ticks,'' he said. 'If you attend the park you run the risk of these mites adhering to you. They're an insect-type thing with legs so they're fairly mobile bloodsuckers.''

Cr Calcott said the mites were living on the bats and residents were fearful they could spread disease. 'We know a very small number of bats have lyssavirus and or hendra virus or melaka virus,'' he said. However, the Department of Environment and Resource Management said it had not received any complaints relating to mites. ''Further, Queensland Health advises bat mites do not carry any diseases that can be transmitted to humans,'' a spokeswoman said. The department has refused to grant permission for council to use a helicopter to muster the bats into a new habitat, away from the township, as there was no guarantee the bats would not be harmed. More than 2000 people have signed a petition for the bats' removal. Politicians and business leaders plan to hold a public rally on Saturday. The spokeswoman said the department would consider any application from council for a damage mitigation permit to disperse the flying foxes, as long as the methods proposed were humane and did not impact public safety.

''The minister (Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones) has written to council urging them to work with the department on long-term strategies to manage the impacts of flying foxes in Charters Towers, as the migratory animals travel to the area every year before moving on, once food sources, such as flowering trees, are depleted.'' Cr Calcott said council was in discussions with a Melbourne scientist about its proposal, which it would re-submit following her input. ''We're sticking to our guns to muster them out of town with a helicopter,'' he said. The rally will start from Charters Towers Hospital at 9.30am and head down Gill and Deane streets to Lissner Park. *Townesville Bulletin

About 500 people protested over the weekend against the Queensland Government's refusal to relocate a colony of flying foxes from a park at Charters Towers, south-west of Townsville. Sustainability Minister Kate Jones says she is prepared to hold further talks about how to handle thousands of the noisy mammals, that have inhabited Lissner Park in the town for almost a decade. Charters Towers Mayor Ben Callcott says all previous relocation attempts either have not worked or have not been allowed by the Government. "I think [Premier Anna Bligh's] on the skids anyway but that's beside the point," he said. "What I hope is that the LNP government has the maturity to do something about it because that's what we need. "People mention guts - it's not a matter of guts. "It's a matter of being able to think and reason and have the maturity to actually plough through a problem and do something about it." Councillor Callcott says locals are growing more frustrated by the day. "This is the first showing of strength from the town and that's a good thing," he said. "If they see that there is solidarity out there maybe they'll think again, but we have been told by a member from DERM [the Department of Environment and Resource Management] that we're right on the cusp of a breakthrough, so who knows then?" *ABC

Flying Foxes 7/12/10

2010-12-06T20:20:00.001-08:00

Flying Foxes

The Charters Towers Regional Council, south-west of Townsville in north Queensland, says it will resubmit an application to have thousands of bats moved from the town centre early this week. A protest rally was held last month, calling on the State Government to move the bats which are roosting in the town's main park. Charters Towers Mayor Ben Callcott says despite assurances that Queensland Sustainability Minister Kate Jones would meet him to discuss the matter, he is yet to hear from her. "It's an absolute difficult struggle," he said. "I would like to see the Government become mature enough to have a look at this legislation and change it but they are adamant that that's not going to happen. "They wants us to work within the existing legislation and that is almost impossible. "I've met Kate Jones personally and I would hope that she might talk to me directly on these things - that's what I wish her to do. "It hasn't happened on the last couple of occasions and I'm not totally satisfied with it." *ABC

Flying Foxes, 1/9/10

2010-08-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Flying Foxes

Something is luring flying foxes, or fruit bats, to Tasmania. One was found in a Sandy Bay garden in May, and another grey-headed flying fox has now been found dead on power lines on the Esplanade in Somerset. Nine sightings mostly in the North of the state have been reported since April. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment senior zoologist Michael Driessen said it was rare to find the flying mammals in Tasmania. "But the flying fox, or megabat, is capable of flying the distance between Melbourne and Tasmania," Mr Driessen said. The state's first flying fox was found on King Island in 1938, and the last, before this year, was found on Flinders Island in 2004.

The Sandy Bay flying fox was the first to be found on the mainland of Tasmania in more than 50 years. The first was washed up at Woodbridge in 1946 and the second at Eaglehawk Neck in 1951. Including the Somerset flying fox, only four have been found on Tasmania's mainland. Tasmania's endemic bats, or microbats, weigh about 7g to 20g. A flying fox can weigh up to 1kg. "Flying foxes are striking creatures and, as with all wildlife, should be left untouched if found. People should not attempt to handle dead or alive ones if found," Mr Driessen said. People are asked to phone 6233 3751 if they find a flying fox. *Mercury

Flying Fox News 10/8/10

2010-08-09T14:03:00.001-07:00

Flying Foxes

A petition urging government action on flying foxes in Charters Towers is to be presented to State Parliament next month. Dalrymple MP Shane Knuth, who will present the petition, said a decision by the Department of Environment and Resource Management to refuse permission for Charters Towers Regional Council to use helicopters to clear flying foxes from Lissner Park had been the final straw. "Before they used to use the excuse that we wanted to use lethal means to move the bats and now that we come up with a non-lethal way to move them, they still knock us back. It is a disgrace," he said. DERM wildlife management director Nick Rigby told council he was not satisfied that flying foxes would not be killed or injured while being mustered to another location by helicopter. Mr Knuth said this proved the government cared more for bats than it did for people. "I would like to see the environment minister come here and debate the bat problem any evening at 6pm when they are flying away to feed," he said. Resident Allan Henderson said people had been lining up to sign the petition. "Everyone in town wants them gone. No one can use that part of the park where they roost during the day. There's flying fox excrement all over the picnic tables. It's terrible. Lissner Park has become a bat reserve," he said. Mr Henderson said the people of Charters Towers wanted their park back. * Townsville Bulletin

2010-03-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

Flying Foxes Pink batts aren't the only bats that will be preying on Peter Garrett's mind at the moment. Of the many native species the Minister has responsibility for in his environment portfolio, probably none cause as much public and political controversy as flying-foxes -- that is, fruit bats. Within the next two months, the Minister will have to make a decision on whether to approve the proposal by Botanic Gardens Trust to disperse, by means of noise harassment, the colony of grey-headed flying-foxes from Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. There will be immense political pressure on the Minister to approve the action.

The gardens are within the NSW environment portfolio and, to date, the state bureaucracy has done everything it can to ensure the dispersal goes ahead. All that stands between the Botanic Gardens Trust and some bat harassing is Commonwealth approval. But to approve the dispersal, currently the subject of a referral under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the Minister will have to place a higher value on the preservation of exotic plant exhibits in the gardens than on the protection of a federally listed threatened species. There is a body of evidence that shows that dispersals generally don't work and are likely to have serious implications for the bats' welfare and breeding success. Problematically for him, the Minister's own department recently listed for public comment the Draft National Recovery Plan for the grey-headed flying fox.

This draft, endorsed by the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (of which Botanic Gardens Trust is a part), contains criteria that will be used to determine whether habitat should be classified as critical for the survival of the species. The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney meets every single one of the criteria. Loss of such habitat is highlighted as being a high priority threat to the recovery of the species. Approving a dispersal would be akin to dismantling a policy before the ink is even dry on the signatures. Approving the Royal Botanic Gardens dispersal will inevitably have a domino affect on those areas of conflict where residents feel that flying fox colonies are diminishing their quality of life but are being stonewalled when it comes to applications to disperse the bats. Maclean, on the mid-north coast of NSW, is a site of ongoing conflict; Singleton in the Hunter Valley is another with a long-term history of bat-related stress and it's only a matter of time before Kareela in Sydney's south and Bowraville on the mid-north coast turn into political problem areas because of flying-fox conflicts.

If the Minster approves the dispersal of the colony at the Botanic Gardens -- where human conflict with the bats is minimal and no one can seriously claim that their quality of life is being degraded -- how will he then be able to stare down applicants at sites where there is obvious conflict but don't have the loose change to spend on the extensive applications and approvals process (Botanic Gardens Trust has a budget for the dispersal that far exceeds what a local council could ever commit)? Garrett's bat problem is only going to get worse. *Crikey

The flying foxes that soar above Cairns each afternoon could become the city's newest tourist attraction. Dozens of tourists have been gathering near the Cairns Library each afternoon to watch hordes of bats flying away from nearby trees in search of food at dusk. For the past two weeks, the bats have been filling the sky at least three hours earlier than usual, creating an impressive sight in daytime. Tolga Bat Hospital co-ordinator Jenny Maclean believed the bats had become more active earlier because of the wet weather. "With all this wet weather, it’s very hard for them to get out and find food," Ms Maclean said. "If you’ve ever gone out on a motorbike without a visor in the rain, it’s very hard. Imagine if you were flying through rain. What it means is, they are hungrier than usual by 2pm and haven’t been able to get out as much the night before."

Ms Maclean said she had been trying to encourage the Environmental Protection Agency to erect an interpretive sign near the Cairns Library bat colony in an effort to educate people about native wildlife. "It’s something that could be used in marketing us as a wildlife destination," she said. Koala Beach Resort manager Ben Harvey said the bats were a spectacular sight during the day. "It definitely seems to be getting earlier and they really stand out in the light of the sky," he said. Mr Harvey agreed the flying foxes could be a tourism drawcard for Cairns. "I think it’s very unique," he said. "I’ve come up from Sydney and it’s something that really amazes me." Cairns Regional Council is hosting a bat summit this year, but has yet to set a date. Cairns Mayor Val Schier said there were ongoing issues across the region about the impact of flying foxes on residential areas. "Handling bats can be complex and if we can share information strategies with the scientists, environmentalists, residents and council officers, then with that power we can look at how we can prevent bats from settling in suburbia without damaging the environment," Cr Schier said. *Cairns Post

Melbournes heatwave in January killed about 700 flying foxes and affected many more native animals. Wildlife carers rescued hundreds of possums and birds across Melbourne while many died before they could be rehydrated and taken into care. A colony of endangered grey-headed flying foxes at Yarra Bend was devastated by the heat and many had dropped from the trees, said Denise Garratt, president of Help for Wildlife. Joanne Ainley, of the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, processed the dead bats yesterday and said about 700 had died in the heat. Wildlife Victoria received 264 calls to its rescue hotline by midday on Tuesday. It was the busiest morning on record other than during the bushfires, said Aisha Reynolds of Wildlife Victoria. There were 349 calls on the day, 100 more than average. The group set up a triage unit at its Brunswick Street facility to cope with the number of injured animals. At the South Oakleigh shelter, which normally receives one or two animals a day, Michele Phillips said more than 50 came in. ''The possums just fall out of trees in this weather,'' she said. *Age

Flying Foxes 18/12/09

2009-12-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Orchardists fear the State Government has put the final nail in the coffin of Bundaberg’s fruit-growing industry, after it dismissed a proposal to help them protect their crops against flying foxes. Growers were banned from culling the pests last year, but they launched a desperate appeal to overturn the decision after losing more than 40 per cent of some crops — and millions of dollars across the region. But Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones last week shattered their hopes, saying the draft Code of Practice suggested by Bundaberg Orchardists Association and Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers could not be accepted because it suggested culling methods. Lychee grower and Bundaberg Orchardists Association president John Kajewski said he was receiving phone calls from three or four growers every day, who were considering walking away from their farms because of the costs involved with non-lethal pest control methods.

“We don’t eat, we don’t sleep — it’s a 24-hour worry,” Mr Kajewski said. “This is going to be disastrous for the industry.” He has spent more than $150,000 on a lighting system to protect his orchards, but said the losses were still devastating. “Last year we lost 40% of our crops across the board,” he said. “Some growers will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars every season.” He said he was disappointed that Ms Jones had not visited the region to see the damage first hand. “They can shoot (flying foxes) in New South Wales – why can’t we?” he asked. Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said a long-term flying fox research program was in place to explore their behaviour and examine control methods, including a trial at Childers.

He said the Queensland Government would provide financial assistance including low interest loans, financial counselling and tax breaks for growers. But Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers executive officer Peter Peterson said orchard netting and lighting systems were still prohibitively expensive for growers and had not been proven effective. He said growers should be allowed to cull a small number of the pests while the trials continued to find an effective non-lethal method. “It is seriously putting the sustainability of growers’ businesses at risk, as well as the underlying effect the stress has on their families and the industry as a whole,” Mr Peterson said. “Last year, Stanthorpe was audited to have lost $4 million, and the Bundaberg region is likely to lose much more than that this year.” “We need to have damage mitigation permits (allowing growers to cull the animals) while an effective,integrated non-lethal method is found,” he said. *Newsmail

Ed Comment; Go here to vote wether to cull or not to cull flying foxes,..... http://www.news-mail.com.au/story/2009/12/07/bats-to-cost-us-millions-in-crops/

Bats 18/12/09

2009-12-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

Brock Fenton shudders when he thinks of a world without bats. For more than 40 years, Fenton - a professor at the University of Western Ontario and Canada's foremost bat expert - has been visiting an abandoned mine 75 kilometres west of Ottawa near Renfrew, Ont., where bats hibernate by the thousands. Fenton knows that one day soon they may all be gone, killed by a lethal fungus that is destroying the bats of eastern North America. It's called white-nose syndrome and since its appearance less than four years ago, it has killed, by some estimates, more than a million bats in the Northeastern U.S. * read more.... http://www2.canada.com/topics/technology/science/story.html?id=2280718

Federal wildlife officials hoping to check the spread of a disease killing hibernating bats in Eastern states are recommending steps that states farther west should take if "white-nose syndrome" strikes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sent recommendations to state and federal land management agencies in about two dozen states Friday outlining precautions for hibernation caves or mines hit by white-nose. They recommend closing affected caves, with a possible exception for researchers. They also recommend research-only access for caves within 75 miles of an affected site. White-nose is estimated to have killed more than a million bats in nine states since it was first noticed in New York in 2006. The syndrome is named for the sugary smudges of fungus on the noses and wings of affected bats. *AP

Flying Foxes 12/11/09

2009-11-16T13:32:00.001-08:00

Flying Foxes

Frustrated students will stage a mass walkout of Maclean High School tomorrow in a desperate bid to get authorities to remedy problems caused by a bat colony adjacent to the school The move, which has the backing of the school’s Parents & Citizens Association, was prompted by members of the school’s Student Representative Council and senior students. School captain Phoebe Zietsch said nobody wanted the bats harmed, but the effect on students and their learning environment needed to be highlighted. “They are quite loud even when they’re not flying and we can’t open any windows near where they are,” she said. “They have us pretty much surrounded.” She said students would like Environment Minister Peter Garrett at the school, but only if he was prepared to listen and act. She said students were taken aback by reports that ‘greenies’ had rung the school asking that students be quieter during recess and lunch.

She said students didn’t deliberately make noise to disturb the bats, but wished the callers good luck in trying to keep 1200 students quiet during breaks. Male captain Jordan Fisher said students had a right to come to school and learn in good conditions. “Conditions need to be conducive to learning and at the moment they’re not,” he said. Jordan, who has just started his Year 12 studies, said many of his courses were in the school’s G block, which had high exposure to the bats. He said many staff were supportive of the walkout because they too were affected. “It makes it very difficult for them to teach,” he said. The walkout will coincide with the school recess from 11-11.20am.

P&C president Lorraine White said that at a meeting on Monday night parents voted almost unanimously to support the students. Only teacher members, who have a duty of care to students, abstained from voting. “Hopefully this will generate a bit of media attention and with that the powers that be might be encouraged to do something,” she said. She said bats had defecated on one female staff member, leaving faeces through her hair, face and clothes. A Department of Education spokesman said the school’s focus remained the welfare of the students. *Daily Examiner

A truck fitted with large speakers pumping out "truly annoying sounds'' would circle the Botanic Gardens' flying fox colony each afternoon in the latest desperate bid to drive them away. The colony of 22,000 grey-headed flying foxes is devastating the garden's historic trees. They have already killed 18 trees and damaged more than 300. But the colony has proved impervious to a variety of sometimes bizarre schemes to oust them from the garden's palm grove. The flying foxes have shrugged off garbage cans being banged with sticks, water sprays fitted to tree tops and bags of ``python poo'' (pythons eat flying foxes) hung from branches. But perhaps the strangest strategies were smearing shrimp paste on tree trunks, because flying foxes supposedly hate seafood, and the installation of a giant inflatable man. The foxes weren't bothered by his huge flapping arms, but the generator inflating the man annoyed park staff.

The Botanic Garden Trust's latest plan is now on public display and is awaiting an OK from Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett. `We've come up with what we believe are truly annoying sounds to flying foxes,'' Trust spokeswoman Kerry Brown said yesterday. ``They include whipper snippers, chainsaws, street sweepers, starting pistols, banging metallic objects, and computer generated noises. `They would be played for 10 minutes each hour in the afternoons while the foxes are sleeping.'' ``The aim is to annoy them mightily so, just as they nod off again, the noises would come back.'' The Trust wants the gardens' flying foxes to set up home elsewhere _ probably with one of the six or so other major Sydney colonies, which include Parramatta, Gordon and Wolli Creek. *Daily Telegraph

Flying Fox Update

2009-11-02T17:06:00.001-08:00

We are hearing that he Qld Government have issued a Permit for flying foxes to be "relocated", by using a helicopter to hover over them and blow them from the trees, has been issued to the Charters Towers Council. However the Permit only covers the black flying fox, and as there are red flying foxes living in the colony, the Council fortunately can't progress the Permit. The former Charters Towers City Council was granted several damage mitigation permits to remove the flying foxes from the urban area, but dispersal to a location on the outskirts of town has always failed. But issuing a Permit to use helicopters to blow the flying foxes away is an appalling act of bad judgement. There are other areas where local bat-hating residents want to move the flying foxes on, and they will wan't to use choppers now. But ...the Queensland Labor Government...what else can we expect.....WPAA

Flying foxes are being shot for food at Woodend in Ipswich and Hemmant in Brisbane's eastern suburbs, say bat carers. Bat Care Queensland spokeswoman Louise Saunders yesterday said while flying foxes were a major food for many cultures, discharging firearms in built-up areas was illegal and flying fox numbers were threatened. Sustainability Minister Kate Jones yesterday ordered an investigation into the allegations and said anyone found guilty of killing flying foxes faced a $10,000 fine. Ms Saunders said people undertaking counts at the roosts had reported people of Polynesian descent were involved. `I understand absolutely that there are cultural issues here,'' she said. ``This is not about anyone's heritage but about seeing that one of the most important mammals in our environment is able to survive. ``It's probably just a situation where people do not realise that shooting in a built-up area is illegal and taking wildlife if you are not indigenous is also illegal.'' Logan Samoa Advisory Council treasurer Anne Siakisini said she did not know of anyone who had eaten flying foxes . * Courier Mail

Mackay has been granted permission to remove a flying fox colony disturbing residents. Mackay Regional Council officers will be allowed to use non-lethal methods, including fogging trees, loud noise and bright lights. Describing the animals as a nuisance to the community, Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said yesterday she approved the permit so long as no practices were harmful to the species. Residents at North Eton near Mackay had threatened to shoot flying foxes after Hendra virus-related health scares. In November 2007, more than 20 of the protected creatures were shot and bludgeoned to death at the rural-residential community. ``While flying foxes play an important pollinating role . . . they can be a nuisance for residents,'' Ms Jones said. ``The department has carefully weighed up these exceptional circumstances.'' Bat Care Brisbane spokeswoman Louise Saunders yesterday said it was sad that people could not tolerate the natural environment. ``I haven't seen the North Eton colony . . . but I live 100m from a bat colony and it's no problem at all,'' Ms Saunders said. ``Often you find with these things, it's just a handful of people complaining.'' * Courier Mail

The NSW State Government began issuing licences for the shooting of flying foxes this week, even though its own advisory panel warns that shooting the animals breaches animal cruelty laws. The Government's new shooting protocols, finalised this week, say hunters must find and kill baby bats with a blunt instrument if their mothers are shot to prevent them dying a lingering death. NSW is now the only state to permit bat shooting after Queensland banned it last year. The NSW Farmers Association says fruit growers must protect their crops from foraging bats. A coalition of 60 environment groups is seeking a ban. "The animal welfare issues that result from shooting as a method of mitigating crop damage caused by flying foxes are unacceptable ethically and legally," the Government's advisory panel concluded. It also found that "shooting is ineffective" when larger numbers of flying foxes visit orchards.

The concern is that shotgun pellets scatter widely, wounding many bats but killing only a few. Alexia Wellbelove, a spokeswoman for Humane Society International, said: "What the NSW Government is doing is nothing less than sanctioning animal cruelty." The Government said shooting was not a perfect solution but animal welfare had to be balanced against the need to protect crops from bats. "It will continue this year as an interim measure," said Simon Smith, the Environment Department's deputy director-general. "We're in the process of looking at the long-term solution, which includes evaluating the cost of providing orchards with nets." *SMH

Flying Foxes at Nth Eton

2009-09-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

The Queensland Government says it will decide next week whether to relocate bat colonies near homes in a community in the state's north. The Mackay Regional Council has asked the Department of Environment and Resource Management to move the bat colonies at North Eton a week ago. Residents have raised health concerns with the council about bat faeces near their homes and water tanks. A spokesman from the department says the submission is still being assessed. We think its unlikely that a relocation will go ahead, under current Qld Government policy. In the past, local residents have burnt the trees and killed many of the flying foxes. *WPAA

Hendra Virus and Flying Foxes.

2009-08-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

An outbreak of Hendra virus at a horse stud in Central Queensland has opened up an opportunity for more strident calls for the killing of flying foxes in the Ross Creek and Cawarral areas.

The flying fox colony at Yeppoon in Ross Creek has had much controversy over the years. In the 1930's, the local Council organised a yearly "posse" of residents armed with shotguns to get rid of them, and some residents still stay the "posse" should come back.

It's sometimes hard to understand why some people hate animals so much, with all the information that is availabe for people to educate themselves about wildlife, and how important it is for our own survival. Much of the Central Queensland coastal tropical vine scrub that provided food for the flying foxes has gone under for houses and development, so now they have to forage wherever they can. *WPAA

Flying Fox Shooting Code of Pratice to be Introduced!

2009-06-18T19:59:00.001-07:00

NSW DECC have asked DPI to develop a "Code of Practice" to manage the shooting of flying-foxes. A Code of Practise is intended to ensure that any shooting is done in a humane and ethical manner. You may recall there was a review of shooting recently undertaken by an independent panel. This review has not been released although the Department undertook to release it publicly by the end of May 2009. This review is widely believed to find that shooting is cruel and inhumane. The review was informed by a report written by Anja Divljan, Kerryn Parry-Jones and Peggy Eby on the deaths and injuries sustained by a number of flying-foxes that were recovered from an Orchard after shooting. This report is available here : http://www.hsi.org.au/index.php?catID=263

There is no way any Code of Practise can address the cruelty that occurs as a result of shooting of flying-foxes for "orchard protection" because: - They are shooting a dark moving target against a dark sky- The vital organs of a flying-fox represent a very small proportion of the total area of the animal and its body mass is far more dense than, for example a bird. This makes it easy to wound an animal (wing bone breaks are fatal but not immediately) but very difficult to make a quick kill.- Shooting takes place during the time when flying-foxes are birthing and raising young. Every lactating female has young that either dies with her in the orchard or starves to death in the camp- The Divljan report that the animals recovered from the orchard were strongly biased to females 1.67 females for every 1 male.

Of those animals 65% were lactating females (see below for more statistical information from the report).- The people collecting the flying-foxes in the orchards were able to see animals that were hanging in inaccessible positions that were alive until at least the following day after shooting. These animals could not be recovered for examination and euthanasia and are assumed to have died from their injuries, dehydration, starvation, predation or infection some time later. In addition, licensed shooting of a species that the vulnerable to extinction is incompatible with the NSW government's conservation responsibilities.

So - to the action needed- please write to Carmel Tebbutt and tell her that NO Code of Practise can ever address the issues of cruelty that occur with shooting and that she must cease issuing licences to harm for the purposes of crop protection. It is urgent that these letters get Minister Tebbutt as soon as possible. Shooting is likely to start again in August.
Carmel Tebbutt's address is: The Hon. Carmel Tebbutt, NSW Minister for Environment, Level 30, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place,SYDNEY NSW 2000 Phone (02) 9228 4866 Fax (02) 9228 4855 dp.office@tebbutt.minister.nsw.gov.au

Please send a copy of any letter you send to Ian McDonald.
The Hon. Ian Macdonald,, Minister for Primary Industries, Level 33 Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney NSW 2000 Phone (02) 9228 3344 Fax (02) 9228 3452 Email macdonald.office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au networkItem

Fraer Island declared a Biosphere

2009-06-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

Fraser Island

The Great Sandy region, which includes Fraser Island, has been declared a biosphere reserve at a UNESCO meeting in South Korea. Biospheres are sites of significant biodiversity that are managed under strict conservation and sustainable development principles. The reserves are recognised under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere program. Burnett Mary Regional Group chief executive David Brown says the region is very unique. "There is an underlying geophysical feature - the Cooloola sand mass - which is why Fraser Island is one, if not the world's largest sand island," he said. "Along with the Great Sandy Strait, there is also a whole series of interesting habitat on the mainland and Fraser which are actually unique globally. "It results in an amazing range of biodiversity, both fauna and flora." The Great Sandy Region is the 15th biosphere to be declared in Australia. *ABC

Ed Comment; What that will mean for the much persecuted Fraser Island dingoes we have no idea, probably no changes to current "management" will take place.

Sydney RBG Flying Foxes

2009-06-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Flying foxes that call Sydney's Botanic Gardens home have been given a reprieve, after a plan to relocate them was postponed. The Botanic Gardens Trust was hoping to drive the flying foxes away by disturbing them with noise. The trust says the relocation is neccessary to protect the historical trees in the gardens. The relocation has now been put on hold for a year because of concerns the flying foxes would relocate to unsuitable areas. Botanic Gardens Trust executive director, Dr Tim Entwisle, says they could not get the necessary approvals in time to move the animals. "It means the flying foxes in the Royal Botanic Gardens are here for another year," he said. "We've already lost 18 trees in the last 20 years they've been here, but we think we can nurse those through as long as we relocate in the following year." *ABC

Ed Comment; What this means is that the Federal Government are still considering the proposal which has been strongly oppposed by many wildlife gropus.

2009-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

RAAF tree change targets Tindal bat plague The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has resorted to tree lopping to stop hundreds of thousands of flying foxes from roosting at a Top End air base. The flying foxes are the second animal problem the Tindal base, near Katherine, has faced with the airstrip closed to aero-medical services for the past 18 months due to a wallaby plague. The RAAF Wing Commander Rohan Gaskill says a health threat assessment has been carried out.

"The assessment found that the physical risks, although they are there, they are relatively low. The risks do exist and Defence is trying to minimise those risks," he said. Wing Commander Gaskill says techniques involving noise and water have not worked well. "The one that is working for getting the flying foxes away from the immediate proximity of houses is the lopping of the trees that they do like to roost in, particularly the african mahogany species, along with a couple of other species we do have growing in the area," he said. *NT News

2009-06-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

Bats spread the Ebola virus to humans and play a pivotal role in disease outbreaks, evidence suggests. Ebola, a filovirus, causes fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and sometimes bleeding. There is no treatment or vaccine and 25–90 per cent of infected people die. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with infected blood, body fluids and tissues. The new findings have emerged from data collected in the remote Kasai-Occidental and Kasai provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which experienced a large Ebola outbreak in 2007 in which 186 people died. Some members of the research team helped discover in 2005 that fruit bats are a natural reservoir of the Ebola virus.

For the new study, researchers led by Eric Leroy from the International Centre for Medical Research in Franceville, Gabon, interviewed locals about the background of the Ebola cases. They were told that the annual migration of the fruit bat Hypsignathus monstrosus was particularly large in 2007. Bats are an important source of protein in the area as wild animals are in short supply. They are often shot and then sold covered in blood. The researchers believe the source of the 2007 outbreak was a man who bought bats at market. He survived, experiencing only a low fever, but his four-year-old daughter died after developing a sudden fever accompanied by vomiting. A family friend who prepared the girl’s body for burial was subsequently infected and went on to infect 11 members of her family, all of whom died. Researchers say their study suggests infection is only transmitted after prolonged contact with an infected person, meaning it may be easier to contain an outbreak than was previously believed.

Jean-Jacques Muyembe, epidemiologist at the DRC’s National Biomedical Research Institute and co-author of the study, told SciDev.Net that the team will continue to retrace events around outbreaks and carry out ecological studies in bats “to definitely prove that these bats are the direct vectors of Ebola to humans”. Vital Mondonge, a co-author from the infectious disease section of DRC’s health ministry, says that the bat migration should be a focus of efforts to prevent Ebola infection. Chimpanzees and gorillas are also known Ebola vectors. Bats, however, appear not to die from Ebola, suggesting they play a role in maintaining the virus in tropical forests. *SciDev.Net

2009-06-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

What happens if you play Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell to flying foxes? You'll find yourself in court. Mayor Brad Carter might not have been entirely serious when he suggested playing loud music to Yeppoon's troublesome colony of smelly bats. “It's been suggested they don't like music and if we played it to them they might go away,” he said during a discussion on the potential health-threat posed by the colony. But the notion got short shrift from Joe Adair from the Department of Environment and Resource Management. Mr Adair had been asked to address councillors on the big bat issue. “There are a number of things you can do to disturb flying foxes,” he said. “And if you knowingly do any of them you'll be breaking the law.”

The Yeppoon colony had been there for many years, roosting in the mangroves at Ross Creek. And it looks as if they are there to stay until they decide it's time to move on. “It's illegal to destroy a flying fox roost,” said Mr Adair, who said the colony had fluctuated in size over time. “There are about 10,000 now where there used to be 50,000 and one of the puzzling questions is 'where did they all go?'” Cr Carter said there was a perception at the coast the colony posed a risk to human health and the council wanted to know if there was anything it could do. But Mr Adair said there had never been a single recorded instance in Queensland of health issues in humans caused by flying foxes, although he admitted he was not an expert on what people might catch from them. “Our advice is that they pose no risk,” he said, stressing that numbers were reducing and the species was under threat as suitable habitats were lost.

Cr Cherie Rutherford raised smiles when she asked how the bats defecated when they were hanging upside down. “How do they avoid messing on themselves?” she wondered. Mr Adair said the bats didn't soil the colony, but excreted as they flew, away from their roosts. "The colony might smell strongly, but it's very clean,” he said. Councillors will now seek a meeting with experts from Queensland Health for reassurances that the bats are not a health threat. *Morning Bulletin

2009-06-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

Plague-like proportions of bats are the latest animal problem to hit the Tindal RAAF base in Katherine. Roving numbers of wallabies at the base have seen aircraft stop landing there at night. Now large bat numbers are damaging trees there, Wing Commander Rohan Gaskill says. But he has told the ABC's Country Hour the bats are not interfering with flights. "Although they do fly towards the air field in the evening and around dawn and dusk, it is not really causing major problems," he said. "Our flying is normally day flying or night flying and the bats are cleared away at those times." *ABC

2009-06-16T12:48:00.001-07:00

Fruit growers in Queensland say the search for an effective non-lethal flying fox control is taking too long. The Queensland Government introduced a ban on shooting flying foxes last year, saying the practice was inhumane. A working group of Government representatives and growers was formed this year to find a viable alternative to protect crops. But Bundaberg Orchardists' president John Kajewski says growers need a solution before fruit starts growing again on trees. "Yes, we can gladly keep going on with trials and do data, but we need a back up plan for when this plague of flying foxes comes in." The Queensland Primary Industry and Fisheries Department and EPA will develop a draft action plan for the Flying Fox Working Group to consider. *ABC