Page 3505 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 23 November 2021

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(e) in the ACT, the grey-headed flying-fox is listed as a vulnerable species and is protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). It is also listed as a vulnerable species and is protected under the Nature Conservation Act 2014 (ACT);

(f) ACT Government conservation advice for the grey-headed flying-fox acknowledges that “entrapment in wide-gauge netting loosely draped over backyard fruit trees” is a threat to this species;

(g) the ACT Government’s proposed management actions include “improving public attitudes toward grey-headed flying-foxes, promote the recovery program to the wider community and encourage participation in recovery actions”;

(h) animal-friendly netting is netting with a mesh size of 5mm x 5mm or less at full stretch and is widely available and performs the same function without injuring wildlife;

(i) some major vendors, such as Bunnings, have already ceased to sell inappropriately gauged netting in recognition of the harm it does to wildlife and only sell animal-friendly netting; and

(j) protection of flying foxes and native birds is important to ensure their continuing contribution to a healthy environment. Native birds and flying foxes both play an important role in pollination and dispersal of seeds;

(2) further notes that:

(a) on 1 September 2021, the Victorian Government amended their animal cruelty laws to limit the type of netting for household use; and

(b) Victorian legislation limits the sale and use of netting for household use to netting that has a mesh size of 5mm x 5mm or less at full stretch; and

(3) calls on the ACT Government, by 1 January 2023, to:

(a) in consultation with local businesses and other stakeholders including ACT Wildlife, develop and introduce and, if possible, pass legislation equivalent to that in Victoria that allows only the sale and use of netting of animal-friendly netting with a mesh size of 5mm x 5mm or less at full stretch;

(b) develop an educational program for the ACT community on the dangers and risks of inappropriately gauged netting on our wildlife;

(d) report back to the Legislative Assembly on these measures.

I have fruit trees in my backyard. We put nets on them to keep the possums off. The nets also help protect our apples from the Staffy, which is a problem I suspect most people do not have. Plucking the dog from the branches of the apple tree is a pretty regular pastime in my house but, other than sweeping those fruit nets out of the way to do it, I never gave the nets much thought. Recently I learned about a big problem that all of us share, though. There are lots of different types of household netting and some of this netting harms our wildlife. This is really upsetting and it is so unnecessary.

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