Queensland mayor says emotions over community safety as councils seek bat cull A Queensland mayor wants permission to cull unwanted bat colonies, saying emotional arguments were compromising community safety. Lockyer Mayor Steve Jones is spearheading the push, arguing green groups have hijacked the issue, putting emotions before the safety of communities. We don't blink an eye when there're other populations which are in too great a number. When there's roos or rabbits, there'll always be some mechanism to bring them back into order," Cr Jones said. We understand the value of them (flying foxes). You can't desecrate the population and make them endangered. That's not what anyone wants to do. It's about controlling the numbers so that the people have a go. Cr Jones called on other mayors to back his push during this week's Local Government Association of Queensland conference in Cairns and today he was given overwhelming support. Flying fox expert Carol Booth, however, labelled Mr Jones' proposal as morally bankrupt and silly. ``Yes, living near flying-foxes can be inconvenient but it is an amenity problem that can be resolved with a mix of solutions such as creating buffer zones between camps and residential areas and double glazing to reduce noise. Education is essential to reduce fears about disease," Dr Booth said. ``Killing flying foxes won't solve any problems because each colony is part of one large continuously intermixing population. ``If you killed all the flying-foxes in one colony, others would take their place. Other mayors agreed action was needed. Scenic Rim mayor John Brent's community has been rocked by a Hendra virus outbreak. He said the time had come to find a humane solution which would allow flying fox numbers to be controlled. We welcomed the state's initiatives however the community's patience has expired,' Cr Brent said. It is no longer sufficient to stand idly by without looking towards controlling the population. Some might put me in an extreme category but I see the anguish on the faces of individuals whose lifestyles are severely impacted as a result of the location of these populations in residential areas. Charters Towers Mayor Frank Beveridge is in the midst of a plan to move a flying fox colony in his town. He said he would consider Cr Jones' proposal while Ipswich Mayor Pisasale called for innovative solutions to not only move colonies on but to keep them from returning. Premier Campbell Newman said councils had the ability to apply for a lethal damage mitigation permit for flying foxes as a last resort but he had not yet seen an example where one was needed. Most of Queensland is farmland or bushland. There's plenty of places for flying foxes to roost," Mr Newman said. If we take the appropriate measures in urban areas they will go and roost somewhere else. Mr Newman said if a council felt differently they needed to approach government and demonstrate why such action was needed. Environment Minister Andrew Powell said the government was working to cut green tape to help councils deal with flying fox problems. Under proposed changes councils will be able to respond more rapidly and move flying foxes on before they set up roosts within the community,' he said. We appreciate the significant impact flying foxes have had on some towns across Queensland and we have been consulting with local governments and the LGAQ. About 37 applications for permits to move flying foxes on have been received by the government since July last year including 30 from councils. About 33 have been approved with two withdrawn.