Creche prevents bat dispersal plans from Lissner Park

Plans to move the bats from Lissner Park remain on hold.

Plans to move the bats from Lissner Park remain on hold.

While numbers in the flying-fox colony roosting in the park have dropped significantly, the community is no closer to seeing the bats moved.

Charters Towers Regional Council resolved in October to engage Biodiversity Australia to develop a flying-fox relocation strategy that would be implemented as soon as was possible.

Council also voted to get the company to implement a roost relocation program of the Lissner Park roost of up to three weeks and to provide roost relocation maintenance for the flying foxes in the park for a period of up to eight weeks.

This week council CEO Aaron Johansson said council had made the difficult decision to postpone the relocation plans “due to the high number of creching young there at present”.

“Moving the colony at this time could cause harm to the young flying foxes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor the population and will commence relocation when it is appropriate to do so.”

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) says councils have an “as-of right authority” under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 to manage flying-fox roosts in urban areas.

The little red flying foxes in Lissner Park in Charters Towers have young in the roost. Picture: TRUDY BROWN

Councils are limited to nonlethal methods and may only undertake dispersal activities that comply with the flying-fox roost management code of practice for ecologically sustainable management.

Under the code, councils cannot disperse flying foxes when the females are in the late stages of pregnancy or there are dependant young that cannot sustain independent flight.

Earlier this year work on an alternative roost site at Young’s Block was completed by DES.

In September, Mayor Frank Beveridge said council had co-operated every step of the way in the development of the site, but was still awaiting state government action on moving the colony.

“Charters Towers residents have been left waiting and sceptical if the issue will ever be resolved,” Cr Beveridge said at the time.

“No one wants to harm them. We just want them out of our town.”

The Department of Environment and Science said the dispersal was all set to go ahead until the arrival of little red flying foxes with pups in tow sparked fears the pups, which might be too heavy for mothers to carry, would be left behind in the forced removal.

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Originally published as Creche prevents bat dispersal plans from Lissner Park