MACHATTIE Park should be closed to the public until further notice due to the increasing population of flying foxes, Bathurst Regional councillor Monica Morse says.
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Around 150 bats arrived in the park in early December and since then the number have increased to a staggering 2500, a report to council says.
The historic city-centre park now smells of urine and faeces and all bat species, including flying foxes, can carry rare, life-threatening diseases such as Australian bat lyssavirus.
“The whole area is contaminated by the excreta of the bats,” Cr Morse said.
“While it may not be dangerous, it is certainly unpleasant.
“I suggest that the whole of Machattie Park be put off limits until the bats are moved to another location.”
Cr Morse said the large, noisy bat population meant that very few people were using the park in its current state.
The bat problem has become so severe that councillors Morse, Bobby Bourke, Alex Christian and Jacqui Rudge said next week’s planned Australia Day celebrations in the park should be relocated.
“At the moment it’s not an appropriate spot,” Cr Bourke said.
“They [council’s Australia Day committee] better start planning to put it somewhere else, I wouldn’t like to be celebrating Australia Day there.
“I’ll be pushing to relocate the celebration, but it’ll be up to the committee to find a new spot.”
Committee member Cr Morse said all Australia Day ceremonies should be relocated away from Machattie Park next week.
I suggest that the whole of Machattie Park be put off limits until the bats are moved to another location.
- Bathurst Regional councillor Monica Morse
“For council to consider holding a ceremony in the park is very unwise,” she said.
“I recognise that our staff are doing their best, but the problem is huge.”
Fellow committee member Cr Christian said they would meet this week to discuss the issue and possible relocation of the celebrations.
“I understand they’re [bats] protected, but in this scenario I’m calling them vermin,” he said.
“I certainly think a move [for the celebrations] is on the cards. Kings Parade is a possible solution.”
Cr Rudge said Machattie Park was “certainly not suitable” for such an event that attracted so many members of the community.
“I certainly wouldn’t like any children to be running around in all of the excretion,” she said.
“I’d be concerned about anyone going in there.”
Councillors Bourke, Christian and Rudge all said that at this stage the park should not be closed to the public as there were some areas not impacted by the bats.
Meanwhile, council will meet with the Environment Protection Authority and National Parks and Wildlife this week to discuss the bats.
Cr Bourke told the Western Advocate last week that he was concerned about hygiene issues from the animals and potential damage to the park, and said he hoped the meeting would provide some answers.
I understand they’re [bats] protected, but in this scenario I’m calling them vermin.
- Bathurst Regional councillor Alex Christian
“They’ve [bats] just got to be moved on out of this historical park before any damage is done,” he said.
With two types of flying foxes – grey headed and little red – now calling the park home, Cr Bourke said he had concerns about potential damage to trees and the future of the park itself.
“We’ve lost Australia Day and we don’t want to loose the park,” he said.
“We’ll have no park at all if we don’t get rid of them.”
The report stated that council’s preferred option would be the removal of the flying foxes from the park, rather than to manage them.
Lyssavirus is incredibly rare and there was a “very effective vaccine”.
- WIRES bat co-ordinator Storm Stanford
WIRES bat co-ordinator Storm Stanford told the Advocate earlier this month that lyssavirus was incredibly rare and there was a “very effective vaccine”.
She said the chance of damage to the park’s trees could be reduced if people do not deliberately make moves or actions to disturb the bats while they are roosting.