28th April - 4th May

 · Lyn Allison. Victorian Democrat Senator. 1st May 2001

Dear Flying Fox supporters

I thought you might be interested in the report in this morning's Age that Minister Hill has called on the Victorian Environment Minister to explain why she approved the culling of flying foxes in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. I have written to Minister Hill as follows and provided him with text of the signage at the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens which explains their more sensible approach to their colony.

Regards,

Lyn Allison

Dear Minister Hill

I was pleased to read in the press this morning that you had expressed concern to the Victorian State Government over the cull of grey-headed flying foxes in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.

Can I suggest that you visit the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney to see how they are managing their flying fox colony. I attach a copy of the text used on signage in the gardens to inform visitors about the importance of these animals to eucalypt forests on the east coast as well the experimental work being done to discourage roosting on vulnerable heritage trees. I was interested to learn from the Gardens that at certain times of the year in the 1950's and 60's, shooters were invited into the Gardens and thousands of
flying foxes were shot annually. Obviously this did not serve as a deterrent.

It is interesting to note too that most members of the grey-headed flying fox population travel over great distances from south east Queensland to Mallacoota to Melbourne every year and that their flight is determined by the times at which flowering and therefore nectar is available. It seems likely that flying foxes keep a virtual map in their heads of these forests and that most will, at some stage, visit the Melbourne Botanic Gardens as part of this journey. It was therefore absurd to suggest that relocation to
Mallacoota would solve the problem. It is also obvious that if all the flying foxes that come to Melbourne are shot, eventually the species will be wiped out.

You may be interested too in the attached figures prepared for the Sydney gardens on a recent count of flying foxes.

Yours sincerely
Lyn Allison
Senator for Victoria

TEXT OF SIGNAGE IN THE SYDNEY ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS. April 2001

Look up into the trees and you'll see Grey-headed Flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) hanging upside down from the branches with their leathery wings wrapped around their bodies. Also called the Grey-headed Fruit Bat, the Grey-headed Flying-fox is a native Australian bat. The bats settled in the Gardens many years ago, probably because much of their natural habitat along the coast of New South Wales has been cleared for timber, agriculture and urban development. At night the bats feed on the fruits of rainforest trees, especially figs, and the nectar and pollen of eucalypts and melaleucas. The Grey-headed Flying-fox is particularly important because it is one of the few species that pollinates the flowers and spreads the seeds of these rainforest species.

Named because of its fox-like face, the Grey-headed Flying-fox is one of the largest species of bats in the world, weighing up to 1 kilogram with a wingspan of up to 1.5 metres.

DO NOT TOUCH THE FLYING FOXES

For public safety, if you find a flying fox on the ground contact our uniformed horticultural or ranger staff or telephone 041 927 0279 (24 hours).

For many years Grey-headed Flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) have been seasonal visitors to the Royal Botanic Gardens. At night these large bats feed on the flowers and fruits of many native plants and they are important in pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds of these species. However, from time to time the bats try to set up camp in the Gardens. As you can see by looking around the Palm Grove, they are damaging the trees they roost in. If the bats continue to camp here they will cause permanent damage to these trees which are part of our living heritage. For this reason, the Royal Botanic Gardens has been given a licence by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to use non-harmful methods to discourage the bats from roosting here.

 · State asked to explain bat-cull. Claire Miller. The Age. 1st May

.· The listing of grey-headed flying foxes as vulnerable in NSW as announced to BATLINE. 3rd May. Jackie Maisey.

Hi All,
A little ray of sunshine from the land down under. Grey-headed Flying foxes have been given Vulnerable status in NSW, at last. The announcement is in today's Sydney Morning Herald page 20. Congratulations to all who have worked so hard to gather data that has made this possible.
Jackie

Regarding the listing......

"Never before has so much data been submitted by so many people to support the listing of a vulnerable species. Nor has any other species required so much. You only have to go to the ABS website and read the 100+ pages "Summary Documents from Expert Group Advising the NSW Scientific Committee" from the Workshop to Assess the Status of the Grey-headed Flying-fox in NSW."
Linda Collins