![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SCN280126flyingfox2.jpg\")
A cherry picker being used to reach the flying foxes. Picture: Katrina Odgers<\/p>\nDozens of flying foxes have died after becoming entangled in netting at a golf club, prompting urgent calls from wildlife carers for the nets to be removed.<\/p>\n
About 88 flying foxes were caught in the Noosa Golf Club\u2019s nets over the past two days, with just under half surviving, Wildlife SEQ and Bat Rescue Inc carer Katrina Odgers said.<\/p>\n
Noosa Golf Club president Dale Officer put the number closer to 60, with about 12 fatalities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe club is trying to do everything it can to save as many of these flying foxes as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Club staff raised the alarm with wildlife carers on Tuesday morning after dozens of bats were found trapped high above the ground in the netting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just watching them die in front of us,\u201d Ms Odgers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were little babies calling out \u2014 it was just awful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the height of the netting made rescues slow and difficult, with a cherry picker required to reach the animals.<\/p>\n
A cherry picker being used to reach the flying foxes. Picture: Katrina Odgers<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it was so high, it took about five minutes just to get the crane up there, and while they were cutting them out, others were dying,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Odgers said the size and condition of the netting played a major role in the deaths.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe netting was so big that a lot of them actually got their necks caught in the holes. It was horrific,\u201d she said, adding that some bats had to be euthanised on site.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey stress and become hyperglycaemic very quickly, so we had to give them glucose straight away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were so dehydrated they couldn\u2019t even blink.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SCN280126flyingfox4-1.jpg\")
A flying fox after being rescued from the nets. Picture: Katrina Odgers<\/p>\n
The seasonal migration of little red flying foxes through the area aligns with the flowering of bloodwoods and various eucalypts.<\/p>\n
Ms Odgers said nearby flowering gums were drawing the bats into the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bats fly in, see the trees, then drop down and hit the net,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Want more free local news? Follow Sunshine Coast News on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn <\/a>and Instagram<\/a>, and sign up<\/a> for our FREE daily news email.<\/p>\n She said exhausted bats were falling into joins between sections of slack netting, where they became fatally tangled.<\/p>\n \u201cIf those nets were tight, it wouldn\u2019t be such a problem \u2014 but they\u2019re slack and that\u2019s where they\u2019re getting caught,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ms Odgers said wildlife carers had expected the nets to be removed after the first day but were told they would remain in place.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all volunteers \u2014 we\u2019ll drop anything to help animals \u2014 but day after day, this is just not okay,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While Ms Odgers called for the nets to be removed immediately, Mr Officer said the $900,000 structure was not simple to take down.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re 25 metres high \u2014 it\u2019s not something that\u2019s easily fixed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople think you can just pull them down but it takes special machinery even to put them up or take them down.\u201d<\/p>\n The club met with Wildlife SEQ and Queensland Parks and Wildlife officials on Wednesday morning to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working with fencing experts to implement bat-friendly nets as soon as possible,\u201d Mr Officer said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking at reflectors, ribbons or streamers so the bats can see there\u2019s an obstacle.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the meantime, we\u2019ve hired floodlights to go on the range so the bats can see the nets.\u201d<\/p>\n Flying foxes are protected under both state and federal legislation.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SCN280126flyingfox3.jpg\")
Volunteers rescuing the flying foxes. Picture: Katrina Odgers<\/p>\n