Conservation Vs Culling of Australian's Flying Foxes

Overview

• Seven native species of flying foxes
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999)
• IUCN Red List
• 30% loss of total population over three generations
• reduction of habitat
• high mobility and large distribution
• disturbing residents, spreading diseases and eating fruit crops

Solutions to the problem

Who are the stake-holders?

• Control methods:
• Disturbances -noise, light, odour
• Netting
• Sacrifice plants
• Shooting Permits
• Bat squad
• Rehabilitation
• Public Education

• Conservation Groups such as
• The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia
• Bat Conservation and Rescue QLD
• Don’t Shoot the Bats
• Local and State Governments
• Residents living near roosting sites
• Orchard farmers

Roosting colony of flying foxes (Emily-Rose Irene Photography 2013)

Roosting colony of flying foxes (Pallin, N 2013; Salt Lake Comic Con 2013)

References

Australia. Environment Australia 2002, EPBC Act: administrative guidelines on significance - supplement for the Grey-headed flying fox : what you need to know about the Grey-headed flying fox for the 2002-2003 fruit season, Environment Australia, Canberra.

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) 2013, “Flying fox control methods research findings”, Queensland Government, accessed 29 August 2013, <http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/71970/Flying-fox-control-methods-research.pdf>.

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPC) 2013. Pteropus poliocephalus in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra. Available from: http://www.environment.gov.au/sprat. Accessed Thu, 29 Aug 2013.

Divljan, A. Parry-Jones K. Eby, P. 2009, “Report on deaths and injuries to Grey-headed Flyingfoxes, Pteropus poliocephalus shot in an orchard near Sydney, NSW”, Institute of Wildlife Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, accessed 29 August 2013, <http://www.hsi.org.au/editor/assets/Actions/Report_for_orc_%20shoot_2007.pdf>

Environment and Heritage 2013, “Flying Foxes”, New South Wales Government, accessed 29 August 2013, <http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/flyingfoxes.htm>.

Hooper, P. T., R. A. Lunt, A. R. Gould, H. Samaratunga, A. D. Hyatt, L. J. Gleeson, B. J. Rodwell, C. E. Rupprecht, J. S. Smith and P. K. Murray (1997). "A new lyssavirus — fhe first endemic rabies-related virus recognized in Australia." Bulletin de l'Institut Pasteur 95(4): 209-218.

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) 2008, “The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species”, accessed 29 August 2013, <http://www.iucnredlist.org/about/red-list-overview>.

Markus, N. and L. Hall (2004). "Foraging behaviour of the black flying-fox (<i>Pteropus alecto</i>) in the urban landscape of Brisbane, Queensland." Wildlife Research 31(3): 345-355.

Martin L et al (1995) The reproductive biology of Australian flyingfoxes (genus Pteropus). In: Swift SM, Racey PA (eds) Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, vol 67. Clarendon, Oxford, pp 167–184

Moran, C., C. P. Catterall and J. Kanowski (2009). "Reduced dispersal of native plant species as a consequence of the reduced abundance of frugivore species in fragmented rainforest." Biological Conservation 142(3): 541-552.

McConkey, K. R. and D. R. Drake (2006). "Flying Foxes Cease to Function as Seed Dispersers Long before They Become Rare." Ecology 87(2): 271-276.

Parry-Jones, K. A. and M. L. Augee (2001). "Factors affecting the occupation of a colony site in Sydney, New South Wales by the Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus (Pteropodidae)." Austral Ecology 26(1): 47-55.

Plowright RK, Foley P, Field HE, Dobson AP, Foley JE, Eby P, Daszak P. 2011, Urban habituation, ecological connectivity and epidemic dampening: the emergence of Hendra virus from flying foxes (Pteropus spp.), Proc Biol Sci. 2011 Dec 22;278(1725):3703-12. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0522. Epub 2011 May 11.

QLD:Bat squads to come to qld's rescue. AAP General News Wire. Mar 27 2013. Available from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1319524179?accountid=13380.

Hall, Leslie S, Saunders, Louise, Richards,Gregory C. (2000). Flying foxes: Fruit and blossom bats of australia. Sydney: UNSW Press.