Flying-fox report rejects shooting by fruit farmers - 13 August 2009

A recent report commissioned by the Department of Environment and Climate Change has found that killing flying foxes as a means to protect fruit crops is unacceptable legally and ethically.

“Before the 2010 fruit growing season there must be a ban on licences for orchardists to shoot flying foxes,” says Greens MLC, and Primary Industries spokesperson, Ian Cohen. “The Grey-headed Flying-fox is a threatened species yet DECC issues licences to cull it when other states have banned shooting licences for flying foxes.”

“I would like to see the Environment Minister act now to put an end to this licensed killing and help farmers protect their crops by using exclusion netting. Ms Tebbutt has said she will ‘commission a detailed economic analysis to examine some of the options’ in the report.

“The DECC report provides enough economic modelling – the Minister needs to be thinking now about criteria to determine which farmers, particularly in the Sydney Basin, can be helped to install netting to prevent flying fox damage. If we wait until Ms Tebutt’s analysis, it will be after the next election before anything is done on this issue. Farmers will face more uncertainty and Grey-headed Flying Fox numbers will continue to decline.”

“The Minister needs to make supporting long-term sustainable agriculture in the Sydney Basin a priority by assisting farmers with the cost of installing nets. For many smaller land holders in the Sydney area, fruit production is becoming less viable and increasing land prices mean orchardists are unable to expand their operations.”

“Many local farmers with smaller landholdings cannot bear the expense of nets, yet their yields could be higher if their crops were netted. Fruit farmers are selling out to property developers and we are losing valuable agricultural land close to Sydney.”

“DECC acknowledges that, as most shooting occurs at night, it has limited capacity to check compliance of grower quotas and monitor how growers are shooting flying foxes and managing wounded animals.”

“Farmers must be helped to keep their industry viable whilst ending the inhumane shooting of flying foxes. I call on the Minister to act on her own Department’s report immediately and commence a program to subsidise the netting of fruit crops.”