In a recent incident, a horse died due to Hendra virus in Queensland, and the authorities are of the view that bats should be killed before they infect any other horses. Some are of the view that the horse died because he was suffering from a number of illnesses, while others are of the view that the horse died due to Hendra virus.

In humans, there have been only for cases of the disease from the year 1994, all have resulted in death. It was said that bats needs to be done away with, because they are the infection carriers and could probably infect people and other animals in the time to come.

Dalrymple MP Shane Knuth was of the view that it would be a wrong thing to do, as it would just offend the remaining bats to infect even more animals or people in the time to come.

“Culling just wouldn't solve the problem unless you tried to wipe out the whole species, and I can't think of many people that are thinking that was a reasonable thing to expect”, said Debbie Dekker, of the Queensland Horse Council.

She was of the view that this would further distress the bats and they might tend to bit more people and animals as a way of revenge. It shall, in turn, give rise to more and more cases of the disease. There is a need for detailed investigation on the matter to find out the cause of death of the horse, and need for safeguarding the horses by keeping them safe from bat bites. Culling the bats would simply spoil the ecological balance, while not confirming that the horses would be safe.