By JONATHON HOWARD
A PETITION calling for the Wallace Park flying fox colony to be shifted will be handed to Noosa Council tonight.
Councillor Tony Wellington will be given a brief 60 seconds to pass the petition with 470 signatures to council’s CEO Brett De Chastel, during the council’s ordinary meeting in Tewantin (Thursday 26 June).
Questions surrounding the validity of the petition have already been raised by several residents, including whether the petition was from those living in Wallace Park or not.
Concerned resident Kay Fielden wrote to Noosa Today and said residents were “fed up with the bats living in the middle of suburbia”.
“At the moment Noosa residents are being subjected to treatment by the bats as was the case of people portrayed by Alfred Hitchcock in the film The Birds,” Mrs Fielden wrote.
“Council was contacted about their presence more than a year ago, but has done nothing.
“The bats defecate, copulate, pollute, urinate and screech 24-hours a day.”
Mrs Fielden said the flying fox colony had “pushed out the local wildlife” and “stripped the trees bare”.
“Local residents are suffering continual damage to cars, boats, trailers, roofs, patios, furniture, pools and gardens,” she said.
“Local businesses are suffering from loss of patronage, damage to vehicles pools and pumps and skyrocketing maintenance costs and still the bats come.”
But early indications from animal support groups have revealed now would be the worst time of the year to disperse any flying foxes.
Flying-fox Rescue Release Noosa Inc co-ordinator Jan Davie said many of the female flying foxes at Wallace Park were in their third trimester of pregnancy.
“Push these flying foxes around now and they will abort their young,” she said.
“The stress of dispersal is just too much for them to handle.”
Mrs Davie has called for residents to be patient and said the flying fox colony would reduce in numbers.
“There’s an estimated 5000 flying foxes in Wallace Park and their numbers should decline over the next few months,” she said.
Mrs Davie also highlighted that Wallace Park offers the flying foxes a nature reserve.
“Trees were once in abundance around this area which is one of only a few nature reserves available,” she said.
“They are native animals, the trees will recover and they need to be left alone.”
Mrs Fielden said if the petition was seen as unsuccessful, a large public meeting will take place with media and politicians invited.
