WCC 2016 Res 019 - Activity Report

Note: also fits Scientific/technical and Policy influencing The second workshop in the joint initiative “The
people, bats and fruit industry of Mauritius: a process towards a common solution” was held 9-10 May
2018 in Mauritius. The "Mauritius Fruit Bat Research Strategy Workshop" was prepared and
planned jointly by the National Parks and Conservation Services (Mauritius), the IUCN SSC Human-
Wildlife Conflict Task Force, the IUCN SSC Bat Specialist Group, the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
(MWF) and Chester Zoo. The aim was to provide an interactive platform to share knowledge and to
propose new research avenues that would harmonise the issue of human-bat conflict. Workshop
objectives were: 1) To bring together stakeholders representing a range of scientific and research
disciplines from Mauritius and overseas in order to share information and to contribute to the initial
stages of producing a research strategy. 2) Exchange current knowledge concerning fruit bats globally
from the social, economic and natural sciences perspectives. 3) Learn about current, ongoing and
planned research projects encompassing all aspects of Mauritius fruit bats, their aims, objectives,
schedules and intended outputs. 4) Identify priority research questions and areas for focused study, and
collate this towards an outline of a national research strategy on Mauritius fruit bats and their
conservation and management. It is hoped that workshop outcomes will form the basis of a National
Research Strategy.

A number of publications came out in 2018 that directly address this issue. Florens, F. B. V., & Baider, C.
(2019 -- online in 2018). Mass-culling of a threatened island flying fox species failed to increase fruit
growers’ profits and revealed gaps to be addressed for effective conservation. Journal for Nature
Conservation, 47, 58-64. Anthony, B. P., Tatayah, V., & De Chazal, D. (2018). Taking the first steps:
Initial mapping of the human-wildlife interaction of the Mauritius Fruit Bat Pteropus niger (Mammalia:
Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in Mauritius by conservation organizations. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10(8),
12073-12081. Florens, F. V., & Vincenot, C. E. (2018). Broader conservation strategies needed.
Science, 362(6413), 409-409. Oleksy R Z, Ayady C L, Tatayah V, Jones C, Froidevaux J S P, Racey P A & Jones G (2018). The impact of the Mauritian flying fox Pteropus niger on commercial fruit farms and the efficacy of mitigation. Oryx. doi:10.1017/S0030605318001138.

An injunction has been entered in court by Fabiola Monty (Dis-Moi Ocean Indien) in November 2018 to try to put an end to the third cull (November and December 2018), on animal welfare grounds. Whilst an end to that cull did not occur due to the injunction, the case is still being heard in early 2019.

In response to the cull of 2018, the IUCN issued a position statement on the culling (released 10
December 2018). The statement appealed to the Mauritian Government to halt culling of the Mauritian Fruit Bat and make a strong commitment to search for effective non-lethal strategies to the conflict with
fruit growers by adopting recommendations arising from "The people, bats and fruit industry of Mauritius"
initiative (position statement link provided below)

When it became known that a third cull was planned in 2018, a letter was sent from IUCN Secretariat
(signed by Dr Jane Smart - 25 October 2018) expressing concern about the proposed cull.

The government culls (late 2015, late 2016) of P. niger on Mauritius triggered a reassessment of the Red
List Status of the species. The assessment was published in July 2018. The species was raised from VU
to EN.