Action on bats at Maclean school

CLARENCE Valley Council has allocated $10,000 for a project officer to prepare an action plan to deal with the conflict created by the close proximity of the high school and residents to the flying fox colony at Maclean.

Billie Roberts, who has been studying flying foxes for her PhD, said that an alternative habitat area needs to be secured, with vegetation near the school modified to discourage the bats from their current area.

“There is no quick fix,” she said.

“We have been trying for 10 years and now we need to start looking at long-term management options,” Ms Roberts said.

Although the long-term fix could take as long as 10 years, Ms Roberts assures council that this measure, as well as educating the public on the issues at hand, will be by far the most effective.

The topic caused debate in the Valley council chambers with councillors thoughts on the flying fox issue divided.

While Councillors Tiley and Simmons argued that the rising numbers of bats in Maclean and the potentially harmful diseases they carried were of great concern, Councillor Comben argued otherwise.
 
Cr Comben said that while he agreed a solution needed to be found, the school were the real ‘villains’ and by removing the bats it would be teaching the children to have no compassion.

The aim of the funded report is to update council on plans to deal with issues associated with the bats and the impact they have on Maclean High School, the rainforest gully and nearby residents, and will be investigated by a multi-agency working group.

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