Letter to the Editor

Gwen Parry-Jones, Co-Director, Wambina Flying-fox Education and Research Centre, 30 Wambina Road, MATCHAM 2250

In 1993, a survey was done of all the known and suspected colony sites for the Grey-Headed Flying-foxes on the Australian East Coast from Queensland to Bass Strait.

It was found that they were in a grid pattern, approximately 35 kms apart. The Flying-foxes traveled from colony site to colony site in a migratory pattern according to the food supply. As Flying-foxes fly up to 50 kms each night when foraging, this meant that all the forests along the Eastern Seaboard and Southern Victoria were pollinated and the rainforest seeds dispersed.

In just seven years, due to massive clearing of the forests, including the colony sites, for wood-chips, pasture, crops and development, the Flying-foxes have altered their migratory pattern and are now missing out vast areas of forests for pollination. The remnant population (which has dropped 35% in nine years) are banking up into those colony sites that have been left. In 1993, Gordon (in Sydney) was the only site where Flying-foxes were in residence all year. In all other sites they were absent for most of the year. Now the numbers of animals in the remaining colony sites has increased. Not because of a "plague" (which is impossible as they only have one baby per year and have to be two years old before they mature) but because there is nowhere else to go.

By having these animals gazetted as Vulnerable, Management Recovery Plans would have to be implemented to save the Flying-fox and as a result, the forest ecosystem. However, the hysteria generated by a few with vested interests, has caused the Victorian Labor Government to adopt an unprecedented action and refuse to gazette the necessary legislation to save these animals. This is the first time in history that any government has refused to adopt the recommendations of the independent Scientific Committee that was set up BY THE GOVERNMENT to investigate and recommend any plants or animals that their investigations have shown should be placed on the Threatened Species List.

The slaughter of the thousands of Flying-foxes in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, no matter how "humanely" will be looked upon with disbelief and condemnation by all other Australians and conservationists throughout the World.

Better husbandry and management would minimize the mess in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens. Perhaps specialists in management and regeneration could be called in to help.

Would it really matter if a small part of the M.B.G was destroyed when the protection of these exotic plants could mean the disintegration of all the forests in Victoria?

The Victorian Government must gazette the Grey-Headed Flying-foxes as Vulnerable and then institute recovery plans to protect these animals and thus our forests. Surely the Government should be looking to the future welfare of Australia.