The Mauritius Government are proposing to cull the population of the endemic and vulnerable Mauritius Fruit Bat for its alleged depredations upon commercial fruit crops. This cull is being organised without any good data being available on the population of the fruit bats or any knowledge being available on the true impacts of the bats upon fruit production. We are requesting the cull to be halted immediately until more data are available and independent wildlife experts have been consulted so it is ensured the long-term ecological services of the flying foxes for the ecosystems of Mauritius are not impacted. At present, we estimate there are no more than 20,000 fruit bats of this species on Mauritius, which in other countries like Australia would correspond to a single large colony. Catastrophic events such as cyclones could in an instant drive the fruit bat species in question here to the brink of extinction. A famous local example is the Dodo.
Background
The Mauritius fruit bat has been steadily increasing in numbers over the last 10 years since the last major cyclone that hit the island in 1995. This has brought the bats into increasing conflict with fruit growers, who have been calling for a cull of the bats, as they feed on mangos and litchis. The government has decided to go ahead with a cull despite repeated efforts from many organisations to stop this before a thorough study of the problem and possible mitigation measures are carried out. There are no accurate estimates of the fruit bat population on which to base any decisions about a cull and there are a number of other exotic fruit crop pests, Mynah Birds, Red-whiskered Bulbuls, rats and Crab-eating Macaques that may be causing significant levels of crop damage. The fruit bats are getting all of the blame.
Current Situation At the start of this week we were informed that the government had decided to go ahead with a cull of the fruit bats and there has been a meeting to decide the details of the culling programme. The goverment is persistently ignoring wildlife expert advice so far. If you are interested in the current situation, you may contact the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF). Please visit www.mauritian-wildlife.org/
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing to request an immediate halt of the plans your government is promoting to cull Mauritian fruit bats (Pteropus niger) until independently verified population data are available for the species and urge you to not permit any killing of Mauritian flying foxes unless it has been determined by international experts that the survival and ecosystem services provided by the species are not impacted by the actions proposed. We suggest you consult with countries like Australia to find long-term solutions to the problems brought forward by fruit growers other than culling, in particular protective netting and other similar measures which have been proven effective elsewhere.
Yours sincerely.
