There is a lot of finger pointing when it comes to the issue of flying foxes.
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Councils point the finger at state governments due to the migratory nature of the bats. State governments point the finger at the federal government laws protecting the bats.
All in all, it is an incredibly difficult problem that won’t be solved by any one level of government.
Australia has several species of flying foxes and each has different national protection status, ranging from not listed to critically endangered. To make things even more complicated, flying foxes also have a state protection status and bats the same species can have different statuses in different states.
In Tamworth, the current bat colony on the Peel River, near King George V Avenue, is estimated to be about 100,000 – about 90,000 of those are grey-headed flying foxes, which are listed as “vulnerable” nationally and in NSW (however in Queensland it is classed as a “least concern” species).
While many may question why the bat is protected with the presence of such a large colony, the national estimate of the grey-headed flying fox population is less than 700,000 – those 90,000 bats represent a significant proportion of the total population and are key to the species’ survival.
Actions that are likely to have a significant impact on the grey-headed flying fox must be referred to the federal government. Penalties of up to $8.5 million or up to seven years imprisonment apply for any activities done without approval, so you can understand why councils and the NSW government would be hesitant to address the matter, and why they can be slow moving when they do.
Spare a thought for local councils in all this. They are the ones that cop the brunt of the abuse from understandably frustrated residents.
Tamworth Regional Council will begin implementing its bat mitigation plan on Tuesday, which involves creating a “buffer zone” by cutting down trees the flying foxes use. But there are arguments this just makes the bats relocate somewhere else nearby, making it the problem of another town or council.
A similar tactic has been used in Singleton, where council removed trees from a local park, forcing the colony of 30,000 to move on – however, now local residents complain about their treeless park.
There is no silver bullet for this issue.