Thousands of hungry baby bats are dropping dead in parks, playgrounds, and streets around the Top End following a mass starvation event.
Rescue volunteers are over capacity and fear the orphaned animals in their care will have to be euthanised if the Northern Territory government doesn’t help.
It has denied a permit for the black flying foxes to be flown over the border to Queensland, where there is help available.
Kristie Argall, a rescuer with Wildcare Incorporated, broke down in tears as she spoke with Yahoo News about the emergency on Thursday afternoon.
She’s been scouring parks and playgrounds, helping hungry bats as they call out for their mothers who will never return.
“I’m sorry, it’s so upsetting,” she told Yahoo News from her home in Katherine while taking a break to cradle her baby.
“I’m exhausted. I’ve got a baby. And I’m running back and forward to my car to rescue bats, then checking on my baby.
“I’ve seen so much death, it’s heartbreaking.”
Bats have been collected in Darwin, Tindal, Pine Creek and Katherine, and over 300 have been rescued.
Kristie was in tears over the heartbreaking situation. Source: Supplied
“The mums aren’t going back to their babies, that’s the reality of it. The babies are getting weaker and weaker, getting further and further down the trees,” Argall said.
“They’re being found in public spaces. There’s children trying to pick them up, dogs carrying them.”
The disaster is believed to have been sparked by Cyclone Narelle, a Category 3 system that hit the Northern Territory on March 21 and 22, destroying food sources and forcing mothers to abandon their pups.
Wildcare Incorporated bat carer Laura Sewell, told Yahoo News she was extremely fatigued, but the community has been coming together to help the bats which has buoyed her spirits.
“There have been hundreds of hours of effort put into this,” she said.
“Random strangers have offered to drive animals 350km to Darwin, carers have sat up to 1am in the morning to feed and triage, and people who have never had anything to do with bats have stayed up to make them coffee.
“The bats are ready to go, carers in Queensland are ready to take them, but they can’t go because someone can’t be bothered signing a piece of paper.”
Wildcare Incorporated bat carer Laura Sewell cradles some of the bats that were found alive. Source: Wildcare Incorporated
International Fund for Animal Welfare has backed calls for the bats to be sent to Queensland, saying the pups need expert care.
Robert Leach, an animal rescue officer with the global charity, told Yahoo News the carers had been “pushed well beyond their normal caring limits” and that the situation was “unsustainable”.
Even if some of the bats pull through, he said, there is no suitable location for them to all be released.
“This is a serious animal welfare issue, and if it is not addressed quickly, it could exacerbate the existing public health concerns in the region,” he said.
“There is a solution, and all the Northern Territory government has to do is sign a piece of paper.”
The bats are being looked after by volunteer carers. Source: Wildcare Incorporated
Argall has warned that the catastrophe will likely prompt a mass exodus of volunteers.
“We’re going to lose carers out of burnout, and if the bats are euthanised, we’re going to lose carers from the mental strain of having to take 100 baby bats to the vet to be euthanised.
“The only option is to get them to Queensland.”
The NT Department of Lands, Planning and Environment told Yahoo the animals would not be transferred to Queensland because of biosecurity risks.
“The potential animal welfare and biosecurity risks outweigh the benefits for a species that is abundant and is not classified as threatened under the Act,” a statement from the Department read.
“The Northern Territory has been advised that there is no import permit issued by Queensland.”
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