News: Battle for lives

UPDATE: Outrage among flying-fox advocates as the Government delays any decision to ban yearly shootings of the vulnerable species.

UPDATE: The latest from the flying-fox debate.

The Government's response to calls for an end to the issuing of licenses to shoot flying-foxes during fruiting season, has been to investigate the economics that would result from a ban, but licensing laws will remain in place for the foreseeable future. The Government also committed to develop upgraded protocols to improve animal welfare.

Advocates for flying-foxes are furious that another season of Government-permitted shootings will take place this year, risking the lives of up to 1000 of the threatened species' population.

We contacted Nick Edards of Bat Advocacy for his response to the Government's reactionary standpoint.

"There is no commitment from [the NSW Government] to end shooting," he said. "The general feeling [at Bat Advocacy] is that they'll fluff around for a couple of years because it's highly unlikely they'll get re-elected in 2011. So basically they're just working towards leaving it to the Liberals to deal with."

On Tuesday, a report was released by NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) denouncing the permitted practice of shooting as "unacceptable legally and ethically" (read the full review). This sentiment is echoed in flying-fox communities on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, where followers have rallied in their hundreds to support the cause.

Read below for more info on the flying-fox debate.

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Original article:
Battle for lives
Byline: Amy Middleton
Published: July 15, 2009

Pressure is mounting on the Government to reverse licensing laws that permit the shooting of grey-headed flying foxes in NSW.

A coalition of groups yesterday spoke out against the law, which gives farmers licence to kill up to 1000 of the threatened species population per fruit season.

Nick Edards of Bat Advocacy, one of the groups involved in the fight, realises that many farmers, particularly on small holdings, rely on the existing law for protection of their crops.

“The worry for the farmers is, if shooting gets banned there’ll be no compensation for it.”

But Nick has reason to believe the NSW Farmers Association is working on a proposal to provide rebates for netting if licenses are revoked.

As well as animal cruelty issues, concerns surround the reproductive cycle of the species, as the shooting licences coincide with the flying foxes' breeding season.

The species is already suffering decline in its population, which occurs only along the east coast of Australia.

Queensland last year phased out the annual license allowance, and pressure is on for NSW to follow suit before the next fruit season begins.

“We’ve been fighting for this since October last year,” Nick said, and it seems awareness is amounting. A community campaign launched by the Grey Cross group (register at their website) on June 1 has so far obtained more than 2000 signatures signalling public support in NSW.

A report put together in November last year outlining the cause includes a list of advocates 58 strong, including WWF Australia, FAUNA and a host of endangered animal and bat protection organisations.

Government decision-makers are expected to release their findings as early as this week.

For more information and to download the reports, visit the website.

Grab Issue 95 of Australian Geographic for our cover story on grey-headed flying foxes.