Published Wednesday, 14 January, 2009 at 03:39 PM
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries
The Honourable Tim Mulherin
Minister visits flying fox affected farms
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries Tim Mulherin has today inspected stone fruit and apple farms in the Stanthorpe region that have been impacted by flying foxes.
Speaking at the DPI&F’s Applethorpe Research Station, the Minister said growers had raised concerns that they had lost between 20 and 45 percent of their crops due to flying foxes.
“To address this problem, DPI&F has established a working group with industry representatives and other government agencies,” the Minister said.
“The Working Group held its first meeting last week to discuss the biology of flying foxes, the economic damage caused and non-lethal methods of control.
“The Working Group will work with industry to set up a state wide research group that will evaluate national and international non-lethal methods of controlling flying foxes.
“The Working Group is counting on growers across Queensland to provide examples of their experiences with flying foxes and the best methods of non-lethal control.
A range of management options for deterring flying foxes are available, including netting, sound and lighting deterrents and food attractants.
“The Government will also review the use of non-lethal methods of control such as hail cannons, bird-frite cartridges and lighting,” Mr Mulherin said.
Growers at Stanthorpe say they haven’t seen such large numbers of flying foxes in the Stanthorpe region for about 20 years.
Just one Damage Mitigation Permit was issued for the shooting of flying foxes for crop protection between 1 January 2004 and March 2008.
“It’s clear that shooting flying foxes hasn’t been a significant method of control in the area since 2004,” the Minister said.
“Growers also made it clear that given the number of bats involved, Damage Mitigation Permits alone would not have made a significant difference to crop losses.”
The Environmental Protection Agency says shooting flying foxes does not provide an adequate solution for controlling them and the ban on shooting that was introduced on September 1 last year will remain in effect.
Moving on colonies of flying foxes is also ineffective as a mitigation measure because it shifts the problem to a new area and there’s no guarantee the bats won’t return.
“The EPA also believes the bats are highly unlikely to return to the region next year, but the Government will work with growers to protect their crops if this natural event occurs again during next season’s harvest,” Mr Mulherin said.
Growers in the region have asked the government to make available financial assistance packages to help cover for their losses, but crop damage from native animals is not regarded as a natural disaster and does not fit the criteria for State Government emergency grant payments.
“Funding is available under the Queensland Government Productivity Enhancement Scheme (PIPES),” Mr Mulherin said.
“Fruit growers meeting need and financial viability criteria could access assistance for non lethal control methods such as netting. The maximum loan under PIPES is $500, 000 which can be repaid over a 20 year period.”
DPI&F has already committed $50,000 for transition assistance, with some of the money used to purchase 12 gauge Bird Frite cartridges for former Damage Mitigation Permit holders.
The DPI&F has updated the publication “To Net or Not to Net”, which is now available on the department’s web site and covers all control management options for flying foxes with a specific focus on netting.
While netting may not be viable for all growers to protect their crops, DPI&F staff at Applethorpe have developed a spreadsheet which will assist any growers wishing to undertake assessment of the potential viability of netting for their situation.
Netting has proven viable for a range of crops throughout Queensland for flying fox and bird management.
The Minister said he was aware of anecdotal evidence that hail cannons had a deterrent effect on flying foxes this season.
“When noise is being used as a deterrent, consideration has to be made in regard to potential “nuisance” concerns under the Environmental Protection Act 1994,” he said.
“Administration of the “noise” components of this Act is now undertaken by Local Councils and I understand that the Southern Downs Regional Council have expressed an interest in reviewing policy on the use of sound deterrents as a result of devices relying on noise.
“Officers from the DPI&F at Applethorpe will conduct an economic assessment at the end of this year’s harvest. They’ll compare this year’s harvest to last year’s harvest to determine the level of financial loss.
Media: Matthew Watson 3239 3120
Speaking at the DPI&F’s Applethorpe Research Station, the Minister said growers had raised concerns that they had lost between 20 and 45 percent of their crops due to flying foxes.
“To address this problem, DPI&F has established a working group with industry representatives and other government agencies,” the Minister said.
“The Working Group held its first meeting last week to discuss the biology of flying foxes, the economic damage caused and non-lethal methods of control.
“The Working Group will work with industry to set up a state wide research group that will evaluate national and international non-lethal methods of controlling flying foxes.
“The Working Group is counting on growers across Queensland to provide examples of their experiences with flying foxes and the best methods of non-lethal control.
A range of management options for deterring flying foxes are available, including netting, sound and lighting deterrents and food attractants.
“The Government will also review the use of non-lethal methods of control such as hail cannons, bird-frite cartridges and lighting,” Mr Mulherin said.
Growers at Stanthorpe say they haven’t seen such large numbers of flying foxes in the Stanthorpe region for about 20 years.
Just one Damage Mitigation Permit was issued for the shooting of flying foxes for crop protection between 1 January 2004 and March 2008.
“It’s clear that shooting flying foxes hasn’t been a significant method of control in the area since 2004,” the Minister said.
“Growers also made it clear that given the number of bats involved, Damage Mitigation Permits alone would not have made a significant difference to crop losses.”
The Environmental Protection Agency says shooting flying foxes does not provide an adequate solution for controlling them and the ban on shooting that was introduced on September 1 last year will remain in effect.
Moving on colonies of flying foxes is also ineffective as a mitigation measure because it shifts the problem to a new area and there’s no guarantee the bats won’t return.
“The EPA also believes the bats are highly unlikely to return to the region next year, but the Government will work with growers to protect their crops if this natural event occurs again during next season’s harvest,” Mr Mulherin said.
Growers in the region have asked the government to make available financial assistance packages to help cover for their losses, but crop damage from native animals is not regarded as a natural disaster and does not fit the criteria for State Government emergency grant payments.
“Funding is available under the Queensland Government Productivity Enhancement Scheme (PIPES),” Mr Mulherin said.
“Fruit growers meeting need and financial viability criteria could access assistance for non lethal control methods such as netting. The maximum loan under PIPES is $500, 000 which can be repaid over a 20 year period.”
DPI&F has already committed $50,000 for transition assistance, with some of the money used to purchase 12 gauge Bird Frite cartridges for former Damage Mitigation Permit holders.
The DPI&F has updated the publication “To Net or Not to Net”, which is now available on the department’s web site and covers all control management options for flying foxes with a specific focus on netting.
While netting may not be viable for all growers to protect their crops, DPI&F staff at Applethorpe have developed a spreadsheet which will assist any growers wishing to undertake assessment of the potential viability of netting for their situation.
Netting has proven viable for a range of crops throughout Queensland for flying fox and bird management.
The Minister said he was aware of anecdotal evidence that hail cannons had a deterrent effect on flying foxes this season.
“When noise is being used as a deterrent, consideration has to be made in regard to potential “nuisance” concerns under the Environmental Protection Act 1994,” he said.
“Administration of the “noise” components of this Act is now undertaken by Local Councils and I understand that the Southern Downs Regional Council have expressed an interest in reviewing policy on the use of sound deterrents as a result of devices relying on noise.
“Officers from the DPI&F at Applethorpe will conduct an economic assessment at the end of this year’s harvest. They’ll compare this year’s harvest to last year’s harvest to determine the level of financial loss.
Media: Matthew Watson 3239 3120