It’s too bad that the Queensland government has decided to reverse course on stopping the shooting of flying foxes. Unexpectedly, this decision comes on the heels of the Administration’s strong opposition from conservationists and animal welfare advocates. That first announcement was made back in 2023. The three-year phaseout will be completed by July 2026, providing farmers time to adopt exclusion netting so their crops are not damaged. Yet in December, with little public notice, the government reversed the ban, allowing farmers to keep killing flying foxes on the wing to protect their crops.
In the last ten years this program has resulted in the killing of over 20,000 flying foxes. New data from the Queensland state government shows this is a dangerous fantasy. They said that those same hunters killed 130 grey-headed flying foxes, a threatened species. Importantly, the program accounted for the shooting of 700 black flying foxes and 800 little red flying foxes.
The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation has defended the continued shooting of flying foxes, stating it aims “to support farmers in protecting commercial fruit crops.” The department further explained that “all other management options have been exhausted or are unavailable.”
The yearly statewide quota for killing non-reproducing flying foxes is 1,630 individuals. This latest decision has alarmed environmentalists who claim that exclusion netting is a more humane non-lethal alternative than shooting. Educators and animal rescuers claim that netting provides a safe and effective way to protect crops without harming bats.
Rebecca Appleton, spokesperson for wildlife advocacy group Friends of Bats & Bushcare, condemned the government’s action as “appalling”.
“We would ask the government to invest more in helping the remaining farms to get that set up, rather than continue to allow shooting,” – Rebecca Appleton
As many advocates have indicated, the shooting of flying foxes is both inhumane and ecologically harmful. The Australasian Bat Society noted that “the likelihood of a clean, instantaneous kill is low and the majority of animals that are shot experience a slow death.” The group emphasized the increased suffering that female bats endure when pregnant. If these maternal mammals are seriously wounded or perish, the young rarely make it.
Worries reach to endangered species such as the spectacled flying fox. These animals are at greater risk as it is difficult to differentiate species at night. Advocates are concerned that if shooting continues, it may lead to catastrophic effects on two of our most vulnerable populations.