Eviction of bats might spread Hendra – Ninemsn
The eviction of bats from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney may spread the Hendra virus, an animal advocacy group says.
The Queensland and NSW governments on Wednesday pledged another $6 million for Hendra research over three years, amid a spike in cases in the two states.
Bat Advocacy spokeswoman Storm Stanford said a consequence of the removal, planned for May next year, might be the spread of the virus.
"We acknowledge that the chief vet in Queensland has said many times now publicly that it's their view that animals that are dispersed are more likely to be distressed," she told AAP.
"And animals that are distressed are more likely to shed the Hendra virus.
"We think it's possible that a dispersal in the Botanical Gardens may result in Hendra infections but how likely it is we can't say."
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has given his approval for the Botanic Gardens Trust to evict a colony of up to 22,000 threatened grey-headed flying foxes, which have killed 18 mature trees and threaten 300 more.
Bat Advocacy earlier this year challenged a 2010 decision but failed.
The trust plans to blast the bats with loud industrial noise, such as motors and banging, next May.
Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens has succeeded in evicting unwanted bats using the same method.
Flying foxes carry the Hendra virus and can pass it to horses via their bodily fluids.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
