Why not cull the bats?
Interesting, is it not? Thousands of fruit bats that refuse to live in the bush have joined us in suburbia. The entirety of our suburb is their toilet. As we watch T. V. in our houses, the filthy fetid smell pervades. If they were rats the authorities would have no hesitation in an eradication program. Let us be honest, they are just rats that have had flying lessons. As treasured native animals, I presume conservation people or ‘greenies’ are opposed to culling. They refuse to cull them, but are happy to cull any amount of trees and forest ecosystem at great cost.
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No deadly force, as if wiping out a section of forest behind my house is not lethal force. Those trees are stone dead now. I state, unequivocally, that I have lived here for twelve years and none of these trees have ever flown over my house, and emptied their bowels on my car, my washing or my head. They have been exemplary neighbours. As the trees are wiped out, the bats just melt deeper into the forest towards the old Scout Hall, where they join at the hip with another part of the colony. Once the angry machines depart, it's 'Hi, Honey, we're home!'
We are too self-righteous to cull bats which are the perpetrators of the mayhem, but don't give a toss about culling the forest. A group of professional shooters with shotguns all firing together would eliminate enough bats to give the remainder a message far greater than munching up a row of their roosts. Why is it acceptable in the caring world of conservation to kill thousands of trees and saplings but unacceptable to at least experiment with culling bats that are the actual problem? In parts of Australia kangaroos and koalas are culled.
Robin Fenn, Catalina.
Think about the future
It is very discouraging that our Prime Minister has been unable to assert his influence in line with his previously well-defined understanding about the impacts that climate change threatens to have on our world. Perhaps his loss of popularity is partly due to his inability within the party structure to be true to himself and his understandings about the climate.
In Australia we don't have to contemplate leaving our land because of rising seas as some Pacific Island nations do. But just this year we have seen devastating bushfires in Tasmania, huge damage to the Great Barrier Reef and super storms and flooding on the East coast. These events are getting more frequent and more severe.
When you vote do think about the long term future and who will best take the leadership that can safeguard our future?
Sandy Wilder, Moruya.
When is the nature festival?
Coral Anderson member of the Animal Justice Party (Letters to the Editor June 24, 2016) can you please tell us all when local councillors voted on or were asked to support gun proliferation in the local area?
More importantly, as a member of the Animal Justice Party, can you tell us all when they will hold the huge event called “Coast and Nature - A Narooma Festival” that will created up to 47 jobs, net regional benefit of around $4m, with a direct effect being $2.0m, comprising $1.2m from overnight staying visitors and $0.8m from local residents and have 3500 visitors to it first event?
Dan Field, Narooma.
Waking up
This election illustrates we are finally waking up. Australians have outgrown the political system featuring two major parties working against each other, rather than for the best government. What is important is not whether Liberal/National or Labor 'win', but that we are confident we have a great team of people working together, consulting independent experts and making the best decisions. Whether the members of the team come from Labor, Liberal/National, Greens, independents are immaterial if they can work together to achieve this goal.