MEMBER for Kennedy Bob Katter has called for a cull on flying foxes in north Queensland after three men were bitten recently leaving them requiring treatment for rabies.
Flying fox numbers are large because they have access to food from fruit and vegetable crops that didn't exist prior to European settlement.
"We have blood on our hands. We created the conditions that bring flying foxes in plague proportions that allow disease to spread quickly throughout their colonies and entire crops to be destroyed," Mr Katter said.
"To put the welfare of plague numbers of flying foxes ahead of that of humans is sheer lunacy," he said. "A cull is not about eradicating a species, it's about restoring a balance, and restricting the spread of life-threatening viruses such as rabies and Hendra."
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