TAMWORTH MP Kevin Anderson says he will take the community’s flying fox concerns to Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton, as he toned down talk on what should happen to the creatures in the region.
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Mr Anderson welcomed an ambitious petition launched in Tamworth, which is seeking 10,000 signatures to ensure the matter is discussed on the floor of parliament.
The MP backed the group’s call for the flying foxes’ endangered status to be reconsidered by the NSW Scientific Committee and said he was in the process of writing to Ms Upton about the concerns of the community.
“The whole management of them needs them to be re-looked at,” Mr Anderson said.
“When you think about the thousands that are around at the moment, are they endangered? That’s questionable.
“Let’s get the scientists to look at it, it’s been a few years since they have.”
He said there were a number of options which should be considered in the management of large populations of flying foxes.
Mr Anderson had previously said the animals should be culled once their populations get to a certain benchmark.
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“I’ve had plenty of free advice whenever people start talking about bats, there’s some pretty practical options that come across my desk,” he said.
“We have to look at the management of them, we have to look at what’s going to trigger the re-categorisation of the endangered species when they do get to a certain number in population.”
He said there were a number of “irons in the fire” on the issue.
“Environmentally, there are those who say don’t touch them, leave them alone,” he said.
“But it is a massive disruption to people’s lives, it’s ruining their day-to-day living.
“For all of the good they’re supposed to be doing, they’re doing a hell-of-a-lot of damage.”