Flying foxes

[Phil Gregory <>]

Sorry to be still on this mammalian thread. Some of the lychee growers 
in
Nth Qld think they have the answer to Spectacled Flying Foxes eating
their
crop. They have live wires over the trees and electrocute them.
This is
during the breeding season and many dependent, attached young ones
are also
killed. QPWS issues permits for this slaughter but we suspect farmers
exceed
their quota. There is no policing of the numbers taken.

Sorry to stay with a mammalian thread, but thanks for reminding me about this disgraceful state of affairs Jo. Did I read somewhere that Spectacled Fly-fox numbers have declined by 30%+ in the past couple of years? There was an short article in the Cairns Post about it, stating that something like 8,000 Flying- foxes had been killed this season, so it's no surprise that they are in decline. Doubtless they are also a significant disperser of rain forest fruits and seeds too.
I guess we have to wait until they are endangered and then the QPWS can start protecting them. It's interesting that many of our guests are pleased to see flying-fox camps, so they are also a tourist attraction.

I am also puzzled as to why the lychee growers can't just give them a painful zap rather than just slaughtering them, surely better methods exist than this barbaric state of affairs? Maybe a boycott of FNQ lychees is called for until something is done.
Phil Gregory, Cassowary House, Kuranda