A flying fox fortress greets visitors as they drive onto Craig Van Rooyen’s Bundaberg lychee orchard.
He has spent more than $2 million over 20 years trying to defend his crop from the native fruit bats.
“I have lights, I have sound systems, I have drones, I have quad bikes, I have netting,” he said.Â
Permanent netting and lights have been installed around the lychee orchard to protect crops from flying foxes. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
Despite this, the animals still wreak havoc on his farm, about 360 kilometres north of Brisbane.
“Prior to having netting we could lose up to 20 per cent [of the crop] … some years we had $70,000 to $80,000 worth of damage,” he said.
From July 1, 2026, the damage mitigation permit that allows Mr Van Rooyen to shoot a limited number of flying foxes for crop protection will no longer be available.
Craig Van Rooyen estimates he has spent $2 million trying to protect his crops from flying foxes. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
Without it, Mr Van Rooyen worries he could lose his whole crop which is worth millions of dollars.
But conservationists say shooting bats is ineffective and inhumane.
Phasing out shooting
All flying fox species in Queensland are protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, which makes it illegal to kill the animals without a permit.
In July 2023, the previous state Labor government began a phase-out of the permits, which slashed the number of bats that could be shot by up to 90 per cent.
Landholders were given three years to adjust to non-lethal alternatives, and only those who already held a permit could apply for a new one during that time.
No permits will be issued after July 2026, when a complete ban begins.
All flying fox species are protected in Queensland. (ABC News: Lauren Bohane)
Currently, farmers with a permit can kill up to eight grey-headed, 45 black and 50 little red flying foxes annually, and must report each death.
Since the phase out began, the number of reported animal deaths has dropped by more than 75 per cent, down from 2,240 in 2022/23 to 547 in 2024/25.
Damage Mitigation PermitsYearPermits approvedQuotaDeaths reported2024/2561,6305472023/24101,6308952022/23138,7802,2402021/22138,7802,0602020/21138,7802,1102019/20178,7802,5702018/19158,7802,1302017/18218,7802,6702016/17188,7802,8702015/16168,7802,6752014/151410,5802,3602013/141610,5802,9202012/131010,5801,945Â (Supplied: Queensland government)
The Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation confirmed there was no formal review of the phase-out currently underway, but said stakeholders’ feedback was “under consideration.”
Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers chief executive Bree Watson met with Environment Minister Andrew Powell to discuss keeping the permits.
“We need to make sure that our farmers can protect their crops because we’re looking at millions of dollars worth of loss if we don’t have these available to us,” she said.
Bree Watson is pushing for the shooting permits to remain in place. (ABC News: Johanna Marie)
Ms Watson said the shooting permits were used strategically and sparingly to target early arrival flying foxes, or “scouts”, to discourage colonies from establishing roosts.
But conservationists disagree.
Bat Conservation and Rescue Queensland president Melinda Brennan said, in her experience, the targeting of “scouts” did not work.
“Flying foxes are losing a lot of their normal habitat, forcing them inland, and so they take risky actions to get food like going into yards and orchards,” she said.
“If one [scout] goes down another will always try and find that food source.”
Flying foxes can do significant damage to crops, including lychee trees. (Supplied: Craig Van Rooyen)
She said full exclusion netting was the only “true humane” way to effectively protect crops from flying foxes.
“We are very empathetic to their [the farmers’] situation,” she said.
“We would gladly get behind them having whatever support they need to install nets.”
Calling in backup
To obtain a damage mitigation permit, landholders need to have two non-lethal measures, such as lights and nets, in place.
But Ms Watson said some growers’ choices were limited.
“For some growers, they cannot put up nets if they’re close to town or in a flood zone,” she said.
“It can cost up to $1 million to net your property and there are no insurance options available.”
Horticultural netting covers 10 hectares of Craig Van Rooyen’s lychee orchard near Bundaberg. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
The permanent netting on two of Mr Van Rooyen’s properties cost $1.2 million to install, including a $900,000 permanent netting structure that spans 10 hectares.
But even that has not solved the problem — four flying foxes recently flew in when the gates were left open for just 45 minutes while a delivery was loaded, and were not discovered until the next day.
“They will land on top of the drape netting and they will chew through the nets,” he said.
Funding from the National Horticultural Netting Program covered a third of the cost of Mr Van Rooyen’s nets, but that federal initiative closed in June 2024.
Farmers can access loans through the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) to purchase permanent netting and other deterrent devices.
Conservationists believe horticultural netting is the most humane measure to keep flying foxes away from crops. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
While they cannot be insured, the state government does provide grants and concessional loans for repairs and replacements after a declared disaster event, depending on its severity.
Mr Van Rooyen said the “responsible thing to do” was leave the permits in place.
“Everything needs a balance and this is a balanced approach,” he said.
But Ms Brennan said the phase-out should continue.
“To do it [shooting] humanely is near impossible,” she said.
“[Flying foxes] are a native species … they are our only long-distance night pollinators.
“They are essential for healthy native forests.”