Christopher Tidemann & Michael Vardon © 1999
Australian National University

It is widely known by Australian Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders and most indigenous people of the Pacific, South-East Asia, China and Africa, that flying-foxes feed on fruit and flowers of the forest and that their strength and goodness are transferred to consumers of their meat. Flying-fox is highly regarded as a traditional food by indigenous people of these areas (microbes are destroyed by cooking) and expatriates are often prepared to pay high prices to obtain it, particularly for ceremonial occasions. But it has become difficult to obtain flying-fox in most intensively settled areas because stocks have been depleted by loss of habitat and unregulated hunting. Consequently, there is a large unsatisfied demand for flying-fox in all countries, including Australia.

Northern Australia has extensive flying-fox stocks and there is an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to satisfy this unmet demand by ranching. Such an enterprise would have major social and environmental benefits. It would generate significant income and culturally acceptable employment for indigenous communities in remote areas - a recent estimate of likely income (from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation) was AU$8 million per annum, but processing before distribution to niche markets is likely to add significant value to this figure. Flying-fox is a non-timber forest product that can be harvested sustainably, but in most areas, management of these ecologically important animals is presently chaotic. Ranching of flying-foxes in northern Australia would provide an important precedent for introducing order into a world that is striving to use its natural resources sustainably.