UPPER Hunter Shire Council is hosting a public information session about flying foxes at the Murrurundi RSL Hall next week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There will be a presentation, on Thursday, May 4, from 5pm, by flying fox expert Dr Kerryn Parry-Jones and an opportunity to ask questions.
All interested persons are encouraged to attend.
Dr Parry-Jones is a research scientist from University of Sydney who has studied flying foxes for three decades and has extensive experience working with communities impacted by flying foxes.
After viewing the Murrurundi camp this week, she briefed councillors and senior staff and was invited to share her expertise at Thursday’s information session.
Dr Parry-Jones said the colony could be as large as 100,000 flying foxes.
In her opinion there is no effective way of completely dissipating a colony permanently and the Murrrurundi camp cannot currently be moved.
Efforts to disrupt flying fox camps will generally not relocate them, just make them more active.
In communities where camps have been dispersed, they generally break into several smaller groups, based not too far from the original camp, primarily due to staying close to their food source.
They will move when the food supply runs out.
The flying fox camp, or colony, has established along the Pages River and around the school.
The camp is creating problems for residents including, noise, smell and safety concerns.
Council is pursuing all legal options however residents should understand flying foxes are a protected species because they help pollinate plants and spread seeds.
Residents are urged to follow safety precautions.
All available information suggests that the risks to public health are low. Nevertheless, human health will always be foremost in any of council’s actions.
Council has been working with Hunter Councils, the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) and the local community to develop a camp management plan for the Upper Hunter Shire to minimise the impact of the flying foxes.
Council contacted the Department of Education and the Murrurundi Public School and actions taken include parts of the grounds being partitioned off, eating inside, wearing hats outside, and, of course, hand-washing.
The camp is not impacting on the water supply in Murrurundi which is being sourced from further up the river.
Murrurundi’s drinking water is chlorinated and tested daily to ensure the water meets Australian drinking water guidelines.
Interactive surveys about the Murrurundi and the Aberdeen camps are on council’s website www.upperhunter.nsw.gov.au and their results will help create a camp management plan for the shire.
The online survey asks users to rank a series of questions from ‘not important’ to ‘extremely important’ and based on the answers, generates a tailored list of management options.
An information sheet on flying foxes in Murrurundi has been distributed to Murrurundi households which includes health precautions and what actions council is taking.
Council staff have been door knocking residents and businesses close to the flying fox camp.
The vast majority of the colony are grey-headed flying foxes but may also include a smaller number of little red flying foxes.
As of earlier this week the camp is located in vegetation along a 450 metre length of the Pages River, between Mount Street and Boyd Street, covering about 2.5 hectares.
Approximately 30 individual allotments, including the public school and 10 residential dwellings are located within 50 metres of the camp.
The flying foxes camping within Murrurundi Public School grounds are mostly within a large camphor laurel tree, as well as on the school boundary near the Pages River.
They are roosting in a number of native and introduced trees including River Oak, Forest Red Gum, Camphor Laurel, Willow Tree, White Ash, Rough-barked Apple, Poplar ‘type’ trees, and other planted eucalypts.
Flying foxes are a protected species in NSW under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and, in the case of the grey-headed flying fox, under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
If you encounter an injured flying fox call Wildlife Aid on 0429 850 089.
If you find a dead flying fox on public land contact council on 6540 1100 to remove it.