TAMWORTH Regional council will use a $10,000 government grant to help combat a colony of 40,000 bats terrorising Tamworth.
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The Office of Environment and Heritage yesterday met with council and gave them $10,000 to develop an action plan to deal with the troublesome troupe.
The bats have been an electrifying issue for locals this week, with the flying foxes being blamed for power outages to more than a thousand homes. The blackouts came barely a week after complaints from residents and concerns the bats were detrimental to some local businesses.
About 20,000 of the endangered grey-headed flying fox species and 20,000 red flying foxes are living in trees adjacent to King George V Ave on the banks of the Peel River – the largest camp located close to residential homes in the region.
Council manager of environment and health Ross Briggs met with OEH regional NSW manager Peter Christie and threatened species officer Todd Soderquist to discuss the issue.
“Flying foxes established a camp near the Peel River about five years ago, but in recent months the population has increased dramatically during the breeding season of the red flying fox,” Mr Briggs said.
Mr Briggs said the council had not received any direct complaints about the bats after the blackouts, and though it had spoken with Essential Energy, “there’s not a lot we can do”.
“We are going to keep in regular contact with landholders who are directly affected by offering any assistance we can,” Mr Briggs said.
The grey-headed flying fox is listed as a vulnerable species in NSW, and state government approval is required before any action is taken that may disturb or relocate a colony.
Next month, the council will meet with stakeholders, including vets and affected landowners, before leading a community consultation to develop a plan of action.
Actions could include modifying habitat if there is a “window of opportunity” where the bats depart of their own accord.
That could mean taking out noxious weed species to make the area less appealing to the bats, with a focus on the river corridor, as well as removing trees on landholders’ properties where the bats reside.
Mr Soderquist urged locals not to handle or disturb the bats under any circumstances.
If a resident is bitten or scratched by a bat, they are at risk of contracting lyssavirus infection, although “very few have the virus”, he said.
The state government introduced a flying fox camp management policy in March this year, outlining a framework for councils to work with communities in a bid to manage bat populations.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said he was keen to hear council’s plan to deal with the flying foxes.
“Flying foxes are a real problem,” Mr Anderson said.
“They are an endangered species but... we need to do a better job at controlling them.”
He said he was happy to support council in “knocking off some of these bats”.