A QUEENSLAND Government trial of a non-lethal flying fox scaring method is said to have "spectacularly failed".
This season, fruit growers throughout the State, particularly lychee and mango growers, have watched on helplessly as flying foxes have screeched, chewed and eaten their way through millions of dollars worth of fruit.
Childers mango and lychee grower Ivan Philpott hosted a Government-sanctioned trial of the Eagle Eye, a pyramid-shaped device with reflective bands designed to scare birds.
The results were less than encouraging for Mr Philpott with the bats finding their way to the precious fruit, in some instances, gnawing at fruit through the netting.
As a result, Mr Philpott finalised his lychee harvest last week by stripping the trees of fruit, and focusing on salvaging what is left of his mangoes.
Researching alternative bat control methods was a job given to the Government's Flying Fox Working Group, established by Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin in response to the banning of mitigation permits.
The Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also encouraged producers to take part in a survey of non-lethal control methods.
The Childers trial may have been doomed before it began, with information on the Eagle Eye website showing the device was developed solely as a deterrent to birds, not fruit bats.
The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) recommends netting as the main alternative to shooting flying foxes, suggesting that: "The costs of netting can be offset by improvements in fruit quality and yield, and shorter sorting and packaging times."
The Liberal National Party's Member for Burnett, Rob Messenger, visited Mr Philpott's farm in December.
At the time, he called for the Premier to personally intervene and reinstate damage mitigation permits to shoot a very small number of flying fox scouts in time to save Christmas crops.
But the call went unanswered.
"What is stopping the Queensland Government standing up for its farmers, horticultural workers, job creation in regional communities and food security?" Mr Messenger asked.
"Why has the Queensland Government suddenly changed its policy when the flying foxes are in plague numbers and not threatened?
"Unfortunately, Premier Bligh is playing politics again and is positioning Labor once again for Green voting preferences.
"The loony left, extreme green and animal rights activists are calling the shots within the Labor Party and have come up with the excuse that the limited shooting of flying fox scouts is inhumane."
Mr Messenger said farmers can't afford to spend and throwaway hundreds of thousands of dollars on crop protection that doesn't work.
In August last year, Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers (BFVG) delivered a draft code which addressed the reasons behind the ban, in response to a lack of action from the Flying Fox Working Group to investigate alternatives to shooting the bats.
The draft code was handed to Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Kate Jones in person when Cabinet met in Bundaberg in August.
BFVG executive officer Peter Petersen said they'd heard nothing from the department directly, but had received a reply from the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC), which originally recommended the shooting ban.
"My thinking is that, sadly, this issue is done and dusted," Mr Petersen said.
"The Government is not going to relent on this."
Mr Petersen said in terms of effectiveness, some growers were having moderate success with lights within their orchards, but the set-up and running costs were a significant barrier.
"They can't afford to be tied up by more red tape. Where will this madness end? We are calling on all Queenslanders of decency and common sense to support our fruit growers," he said.
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