CONCERNS, experiences and support – it was all called for at a flying fox community feedback drop-in session in Machattie Park.
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The three-hour session was held on Monday to help Bathurst Regional Council create a Flying Fox Camp Management Plan.
The community and interested stakeholders were invited along to have their say on what council should do with the colony of flying foxes that arrived in the park in early December.
Environmental consultancy firm Eco Logical, which was engaged by council, was on hand to provide information on: where the bats are in Bathurst, which trees they are occupying in the park (English elm, English oak and Himalayan cedar) and other potential suitable habitats across the city.
Attendees were also invited to complete council’s online survey on the bat population.
WIRES bat carer Louise O'Brien said “we need to find a way to live with them” and disputed council’s claims that these flying foxes had damaged the park’s trees.
Rather, she said, the trees they were living in were deciduous and that the ongoing hot climate had had an impact.
Ms O’Brien said while bats can carry the life-threatening diseases such as Australian Bat Lyssavirus, infections were extremely rare and not a “death sentence”.
Animal Justice Party (AJP) member Queenie Green said the arrival of the bats had incited “hysteria and ignorance” among some councillors, and that at no stage was the AJP or WIRES consulted for their expertise by council.
The online survey to help create the Flying Fox Camp Management Plan remains open until Monday, April 30.