Protestors in bat costumes halted work at coal mine

Police were called to a coal loader at Boggabri Coal Mine, in the north west of New South Wales, Australia, on Tuesday when protestors attached themselves to mining equipment.

Boggabri Coal is operated by Idemitsu Resources Australia and is located 17km north-east of Boggabri. Two activists dressed in bat costumes suspended themselves 30-metres above the ground, temporarily halting operation of the coal loader.

Environmentalists claim Boggabri Coal's expansion will clear the habitat of endangered and vulnerable species, including the Barking Owl, Turquoise Parrot and Greater Long-Eared Bat, living in the Boggabri Coal Biodiversity Offset Area.

The action is part of an ongoing campaign being waged by protestors against miners and coal seam gas explorers in the Leard State Forest and the Pilliga State Forest. More than 20 protestors have been arrested in the two locations in the past month. Protestors say, while Idemitsu claims its offsets are six times the size of the Boggabri Coal Mine, it will take over 100 years before they provide crucially-equivalent habitat.