Flying Foxes 12/11/09

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

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