During 2023, the Queensland government authorised the killing of more than 299,000 native animals under “damage mitigation permits”. This included tens of thousands of macropods and birds, as well as flying foxes who are already under significant pressure. At the same time, dingoes remain unprotected on private land and can be killed even without a permit.
These figures expose a licencing system that makes lethal control easy, routine, and poorly scrutinised. Permits are often granted without clear evidence of damage, without meaningful consideration of non-lethal alternatives, and with limited transparency or oversight.
Flying-foxes highlight the problem clearly.
In 2023, the former Queensland Government committed to ending permits to shoot flying-foxes for crop protection after a three-year phase-out, with shooting due to end on 1 July 2026. That commitment recognised what experts have long said: shooting is cruel, ineffective, and does not prevent ongoing crop damage. Proven non-lethal solutions, such as wildlife-friendly exclusion netting, protect crops without harming native wildlife.
Now, the Crisafulli Government is backtracking.
This backflip does not just threaten flying-foxes. It signals a broader failure to reform a system that defaults to killing rather than coexistence.
Without urgent reform, Queensland will continue to authorise large-scale wildlife killing, prolong animal suffering, undermine biodiversity, and delay the transition to humane, effective solutions.
Ask the Queensland government to fix the wildlife permitting system, end cruel practices like shooting flying-foxes, and prioritise non-lethal solutions that work for both landholders and wildlife.
