Upper Hunter Shire Council looking at ongoing situation

A large number have been spotted moving across Kingdon Street, from the direction of Scone Golf Club, over the past few weeks.

Director of environmental and customer services Mat Pringle said council would “keep an eye on it”.

“We’re not sure how long they are going to be there, they may take off soon and will therefore not pose a problem,” he said.

“If they do stay, then we’ll need to see what we can do to minimise the impact to the community.”

Hunter Councils Inc. has been awarded a $95,000 NSW government grant to prepare six flying fox camp management plans (CMP) for colonies across the region.

Mr Pringle said that, despite the fact only Aberdeen and Muswellbrook were included as part of the Upper Hunter on this list, Scone and other towns in the region would not be overlooked.

“We should be able to apply the same principles to other camps that become established,” he said.

“We’re in the process of developing it now, and some of that involves community engagement.”

The purpose of CMPs is to minimise impacts to the community while conserving flying foxes and their habitat, managing public health and safety risks, clearly defining roles and responsibilities, and enabling land managers and other stakeholders to use a range of suitable management responses. 

According to the Office of Environment and Heritage, there is no evidence that people can catch Hendra directly from flying foxes.

However, it is believed that horses catch the Hendra virus when they eat food which has recently been contaminated with an infected flying fox's urine, saliva or birth products.