Council considers property buyback scheme due to bat colony

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A council in regional Queensland is considering a home buyback scheme, to support residents living in the path of a growing and pesky Flying Fox population. Gympie regional council says its time state and federal governments assisted with the issue, which is devaluing local homes and putting people's health at risk.

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00:00it's absolutely devastating you know they they bought and they purchased their properties when

00:06there were no bats there now they have a massive colony they can't go out into the yard they can't

00:11bring family or friends over they can't have their grandkids come over and play their houses

00:15are locked up 24 7 because of the smell and the odor and the noise it's absolutely demoralizing

00:20to them um you know from their social connection and and and but but just from a you know a mental

00:26health perspective it's absolutely just it's it's not sustainable long term and something has to be

00:33done to give these people a quality of life and so that the noise is that bad huh and starts really

00:38early in the morning right it starts really early in the morning and it's back again there late at

00:43night and during the day as you know things disrupt the roost um the bats do make extra noise but you

00:49know it's it's their excrement their faeces that they drop all through their yards they can't hang

00:53their their clothes out on the line and it's the federal legislation in particular that makes it

00:58very very difficult for local governments to do anything about it or anything that actually will

01:03deliver a result you have to change the legislation and if you're not going to change the legislation

01:07then buy these people out so they can go and have a quality of life that um that is equal to at least

01:13the bats because at the moment the legislation treats the bats with more importance than people

01:17so what has council done to try to encourage the flying foxes to go elsewhere

01:21look when we've spent a significant amount of money on vegetation management and also putting

01:27sprinklers up into the trees i mean basically we just should have supplied shampoo and given them a

01:31shower these things are acknowledged by everyone that they don't work um you you have to take

01:36significant action to to move these on and deter them coming back but you need a change in legislation

01:42to do that or if you're not going to change the legislation then compensate these people for the

01:47problem that you've created and so how many people are we talking about how many homes look the i don't

01:52know the exact number but i'd say it's in in you know above 20 you know these people that bought there

01:57in the 80s when it was just a beautiful gully they could walk down there with their family and their

02:00friends and and share quality time now no one wants to go there it's just it's you know it's it's

02:07unattractive it's difficult for even our staff to maintain it properly um it's a problem that has to be

02:13resolved and people have to matter more than these bats even if the legislation allowed you what is

02:19is it possible to get rid of them well mate it's possible to get rid of anything i think you know

02:25we want to do it in a manner that allows you know the the lifestyle and and the um you know the quality

02:31of life to be delivered back to the residents but also move these on in in a humane way you know

02:37while there's trees there while there's foliage and while you can't do anything to actually upset the

02:42roost they're never ever going to move you have to create an environment that is not um comfortable

02:47for them so they go and find another place to live because at the moment the only people that are

02:52suffering are the residents and so if the legislation like federal and state legislation doesn't allow

02:57you to get rid of the bats you're saying the feds and states should up should put up the money

03:01to help these locals move well it's their legislation that's created the problem and made it difficult to

03:07actually deal with this issue if you create the problem you should fund the solution

03:11yeah and are you getting any positive signs from this the other governments at this stage

03:16look we've had i've had a number of conversations particularly with the state government and and

03:20they're understanding and they are looking for options so it's it is positive

03:26um but it's a big problem and it's not only a problem for gimpy it occurs right around our country

03:31um and if if these people had moved next to a bat colony i'd have no sympathy at all just like if someone

03:37moves next to a highway and you know whinges about the traffic noise but these people bought when

03:43there were no bats there and the bats have moved in and it's the legislation and the you know the

03:48the desire to actually treat the bats as more important than people that is the problem

03:54the enemy's right to be in the right arm is the only way to walk away so thank you to your point so

03:59let me see you guys there's no way to the right arm and let me know if you're looking for it

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