Bat cull is essential
I WRITE in support of Charters Towers residents concerned about the impact of bats on their community.
I have become involved in this issue and called two meetings at the RSL in Charters Towers late last November.
Bob Katter and representatives showed up along with about 50 residents at each of the meetings.
We formed a group submission where at the later meeting many people signed the document.
The document states that residents would prefer a cull method to remove the colony of about 200,000 bats, as pre- vious dispersals only allowed the bats to return.
We also asked for free medical care from the State Government as many children and elderly folks have been sick from related respiratory problems.
Another issue is assistance for large power bills in the form of cheaper tariffs or rebates. That’s because most families have had to dry their clothes inside their homes and also run airconditioners because of the stench outside.
Children, parents and the elderly have become prisoners in their own homes because of the stench and dead bat bod- ies strewn around the neighbourhood.
It was also raised at the meeting that the hospital’s emergency helicopter, that usually makes flights to Townsville, was in jeopardy of crashing as it would have to await clearance for flights from the colony of bats nearby in Lissner Park.
Lissner and Centennial parks, including the public swimming pool, were closed down prior to Christmas because it was deemed unsafe to enter.
The signed submissions were sent to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and the Oppo- sition soon after the meeting and it seems to me the ALP has forgotten the good people of Charters Towers and made them live in hell over the Christmas/ New Year period.
I wonder if this is some form of political rivalry as the Katter Party has held this state seat for many years?
If that is the case it makes me feel ashamed of being a Queenslander.
I demand the Premier come forward on this issue and work with the Katter Party to resolve the problem. This has been ongoing for many years and if this were to happen in the south- east corner I’m sure the problem would have been fixed years ago.
Both state and federal legislation must be changed to either cull or provide immediate dispersal action to remove large numbers of bats living within residential areas.
It seems as if bats’ lives are put before humans and we all know there are plenty of diseases that bats carry and the most common are lyssavirus and the Hendra virus.
There are many more issues that can be viewed on Facebook at Charters Towers Bat Action Group. JACK McDOUGALL,
Glenella.