[Greens-Media] Flying-fox report rejects shooting by fruit farmers

[Catherine Coorey]

Ian Cohen MLC
Media Release                                                          
          Thursday 13 August 2009 
Flying-fox report rejects shooting by fruit farmers 

A recent report commissioned by the Department of Environment and
Climate Change has found that killing flying foxes as a means to protect
fruit crops is unacceptable legally and ethically.
 
“Before the 2010 fruit growing season there must be a ban on licences
for orchardists to shoot flying foxes,” says Greens MLC, and Primary
Industries spokesperson, Ian Cohen. “The Grey-headed Flying-fox is a
threatened species yet DECC issueslicencesto cull it when other states
have banned shootinglicencesfor flying foxes.”
 
“I would like to see the Environment Minister act now to put an end
to this licensed killing and help farmers protect their crops by using
exclusion netting. Ms Tebbutt has said she will ‘commission a detailed
economic analysis to examine some of the options’ in the report. 
 
“The DECC report provides enough economic modelling – the Minister
needs to be thinking now about criteria to determine which farmers,
particularly in the Sydney Basin, can be helped to install netting to
prevent flying fox damage. If we wait until Ms Tebutt’s analysis, it
will be after the next election before anything is done on this issue.
Farmers will face more uncertainty and Grey-headed Flying Fox numbers
will continue to decline.”
 
“The Minister needs to make supporting long-term sustainable
agriculture in the Sydney Basin a priority by assisting farmers with the
cost of installing nets. For many smaller land holders in the Sydney
area, fruit production is becoming less viable and increasing land
prices mean orchardists are unable to expand their operations.”
 
“Many local farmers with smaller landholdings cannot bear the expense
of nets, yet their yields could be higher if their crops were netted.
Fruit farmers are selling out to property developers and we are losing
valuable agricultural land close to Sydney.”
 
“DECC acknowledges that, as most shooting occurs at night, it has
limited capacity to check compliance of grower quotas and monitor how
growers are shooting flying foxes and managing wounded animals.” 
 
“Farmers must be helped to keep their industry viable whilst ending
the inhumane shooting of flying foxes. I call on the Minister to act on
her own Department’s report immediately and commence a program to
subsidise the netting of fruit crops.”
 
 
More information: Catherine Coorey 0402 315 345 or Ian Cohen: 0409 989
466 

Catherine Coorey
Media Advisor to 
Ian Cohen MLC 
The Greens
NSW Parliament
Macquarie St, Sydney. 2000
www.iancohen.org.au
9230 3305
0402 315 345
fax: 9230 2267