Queensland cull hopes look shot as farmers go batty

THE federal government has fired a warning shot at Queensland over plans for a go-it-alone culling of swarming fruit bats

THE federal government has fired a warning shot at Queensland over plans for a go-it-alone culling of swarming fruit bats.

Environment Minister Tony Burke said the state must ensure that any culling complied with federal regulations -- and also reminded farmers and property owners they could be held liable for killing the animals.

Problems with colonies near homes or disrupting farm operations have come to a head in Queensland after last year's floods destroyed flying fox habitats and food sources, pushing them into closer contact with people.

This is suspected to have underpinned last year's eruption of bat-borne Hendra virus across a record 19 sites in Queensland and NSW. At least 23 horses died or were put down and for the first time a dog was found to have been infected in the field. No people, however, became sick.

Queensland's new Liberal National Party government has promised to issue "damage mitigation permits", which in some circumstances would allow farmers to shoot bats, an option that was outlawed by state Labor four years ago.

Natural Resources Minister Andrew Cripps this week affirmed that culling might be allowed where non-lethal measures had failed. While Mr Burke agreed it was a state responsibility to manage permits for the culling of protected flying foxes, individual landholders "need to be aware of their responsibilities" under national environmental law.

This means that in addition to state approval or a permit, any proposal to cull flying foxes could need to comply with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

This provides for civil penalties carrying fines of up to $550,000 for an individual and $5.5 million for companies, as well as criminal penalties of up to seven years' imprisonment for a breach of the act. Failure to comply with the conditions of approvals issued under the law carry a jail term of up to two years' and a fine of $13,200.

Wildlife groups have already said they would campaign against a cull in Queensland, and the RSPCA is on record as opposing killings.

The north Queensland town of Charters Towers, west of Townsville, is a hotpoint of the debate on how to control flying fox concentrations. Locals are up in arms over a colony of up to 40,000 that took over the town's main park a decade ago and have defied every attempt to be moved on.

Deputy mayor Bernie Robertson conceded there was no shortage of people fed up with the noise and the mess made by the bats, and the disease threat they posed, who "just want to get in and shoot them".

He said a cull was unlikely to be approved: "Shooting them may be the answer, but I just don't think that's an option anymore."

The council was more hopeful it would be allowed to bring in low-flying helicopters to chase the bats out of Lissner Park, even though this plan had been rejected by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.