Wednesday, 11 May 2022

 Mr MEDDICK (Western Victoria) (12:32): (1770) My constituency question is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change. The flying foxes in Colac Botanic Gardens are an iconic feature and are loved by many locals, yet right now they are being terrorised in their own home by flashing lights and blaring sound in an attempt to make them move. This might seem slightly annoying for us, but for our wildlife it is life threatening. They rely on their habitat to survive, and if any flying foxes are pregnant, it can result in miscarriage. Flying foxes are a keystone species and already face so many threats. They do not need any more. While this dispersal technique has been renamed ‘nudging’ in an attempt to make it sound more acceptable, it is nothing more than blatant cruelty to our native animals. Will the minister protect Colac’s flying foxes and cancel the permit to disperse them?