Bairnsdale's bat battle – photo essay
by Annette Ruzicka from on (#3RGT4)
A 10-year fight between a group of residents and the East Gippsland shire council over grey-headed flying foxes is heating up again
The Australian town of Bairnsdale in Victoria - 300km east of Melbourne - is known as the gateway to east Gippsland's natural wonders. It is also the scene of a 10-year battle between a group of residents and the East Gippsland shire council over a colony of grey-headed flying foxes that roost along the town's Mitchell River.
In 2014, the council received federal government approval to clear critical habitat in a three-stage process, the first occurring in 2015. The debate is now heating up in the approach of stage-two clearing, which the council intends to complete by the end of 2018.
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