This document summarizes a study on horse owners' attitudes and risk perception regarding flying foxes and Hendra virus. The study found that 18% of horse owners perceived flying foxes as a current threat to their horses' health, while 71% did not see them as a threat. Horse owners who saw flying foxes near their property or on it were 11 times more likely to perceive them as a threat compared to those who did not see them. Those who believed a Hendra virus case was very likely in their area were 28 times more likely to view flying foxes as a threat.

1. Figure
2:
Horse
owners’
a,tudes
towards
flying
foxes
and
their
management
in
regards
to
HeV.
Each
bar
represents
the
propor>on
(%)
of
the
577
respondents
for
each
response
“As
long
as
we’ve
had
bats,
we’ve
had
Hendra”
–
Horse
owners’
knowledge
and
risk
perception
of
<lying
foxes
in
regards
to
Hendra
virus
Eliza
McDonald1,
Anke
Wiethoelter1,2,
Melanie
Taylor2,
Nicole
Schembri2,
Navneet
Dhand1,
Nina
Kung3,
Barbara
Moloney4,
Therese
Wright4,
Hume
Field3,5
and
Jenny-­‐Ann
Toribio1
1Faculty
of
Veterinary
Science,
The
University
of
Sydney,
2Centre
for
Health
Research,
University
of
Western
Sydney,
3Queensland
Department
of
Agriculture
and
Fisheries,
4New
South
Wales
Department
of
Primary
Industries,
5EcoHealth
Alliance
• Hendra
virus
(HeV)
–
zoonosis
of
public
health
concern
in
Australia
• Spills
over
from
flying
foxes
(Pteropus
spp.)
to
horses
and
from
horses
to
humans
• High
fatality
rate
–
75%
in
horses
and
57%
in
humans
(Kung
et
al.
2013)
• 53
spillover
events
since
iden>fica>on
in
Hendra,
Queensland
in
1994
–
all
spillover
loca>ons
overlap
with
distribu>on
of
flying
fox
species
(see
Figure
1)
HENDRA
VIRUS
BACKGROUND
This
study
is
part
of
the
Horse
owners
and
Hendra
virus:
A
Longitudinal
cohort
study
To
Evaluate
Risk
(HHALTER)
project
and
focuses
on
the
knowledge,
risk
percep>on
and
a,tudes
of
horse
owners
towards
flying
foxes
as
the
reservoir
hosts
of
HeV.
Data
presented
here
are
based
on
responses
of
the
577
par>cipa>ng
horse
owners
in
a
self-­‐administered
online
survey
in
December
2014.
Ordinal
logis>c
regression
was
conducted
to
evaluate
the
influence
of
various
factors
on
horse
owners’
risk
percep>on
of
flying
foxes
as
a
current
threat
to
the
health
of
horse(s)
on
their
proper>es,
categorised
as
‘yes’,
‘unsure’
and
‘no’.
METHODS
ATTITUDES
&
RISK
PERCEPTION
TOWARDS
FLYING
FOXES
Hall,
L.S
and
Richards,
G
2000,
‘Flying
foxes:
fruit
and
blossom
bats
of
Australia.’
(University
of
New
South
Wales
Press:
Sydney);
Kung,
N,
McLaughlin,
A,
Taylor,
M,
Moloney,
B,
Wright,
T
&
Field,
H
2013,
'Hendra
virus
and
horse
owners
-­‐
risk
percep>on
and
management',
PLOS
One,
vol.
8,
no.
11,
pp.
1-­‐8.;
Queensland
Department
of
Agriculture
and
Fisheries
(2014).
"Hendra
Virus.”
Retrieved
9
March
2015,
from
hkps://www.daff.qld.gov.au/animal-­‐industries/animal-­‐health-­‐and-­‐diseases/a-­‐z-­‐list/;
New
South
Wales
Department
of
Primary
Industries
(2015).
“Hendra
virus
case
confirmed
on
NSW
north
coast.”
Retrieved
18
July
2015,
from
hkp://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/news/all/2015/hendra-­‐virus-­‐confirmed-­‐on-­‐nsw-­‐north-­‐coast
REFERENCES
CONCLUSIONS
STUDY
OBJECTIVES
1. Iden>fy
horse
owners’
a,tudes
towards
flying
foxes
in
regards
to
HeV
and
their
management
2. Evaluate
factors
influencing
horse
owners’
risk
percep>on
of
flying
foxes
and
how
these
may
impact
subsequent
uptake
of
risk
mi>ga>on
strategies
Flying
foxes
were
perceived
as
a
current
threat
to
the
health
of
horse(s)
on
their
property
by
18%
of
horse
owners
and
not
viewed
as
a
threat
by
71%,
with
the
remainder
of
horse
owners
‘unsure’.
Out
of
the
104
respondents
who
did
perceive
flying
foxes
as
a
threat:
• 84%
had
vaccinated
either
all
or
some
of
their
horses
• 96%
lived
in
Queensland
or
New
South
Wales
• 52%
lived
less
than
50km
from
the
nearest
HeV
case
in
a
horse
Furthermore,
horse
owners
who
saw
flying
foxes
either
nearby
or
on
their
horse
property
were
11
>mes
more
likely
to
perceive
them
as
a
threat
compared
to
those
who
did
not
see
them
(P
<
0.001).
Addi>onally,
those
who
believed
a
HeV
case
was
very
likely
to
occur
in
their
area
were
28
>mes
more
likely
to
perceive
them
as
a
threat
compared
to
those
who
believed
it
was
not
at
all
likely
to
occur
(P
<
0.001)
(see
Figure
3).
• Most
horse
owners
did
not
perceive
flying
foxes
as
a
current
threat
to
the
health
of
horse(s)
on
their
proper>es
• However,
the
majority
of
those
who
did
perceive
flying
foxes
as
a
threat
kept
horses
in
or
close
to
HeV
affected
regions
and
had
implemented
risk
mi>ga>on
measures
by
vaccina>ng
some
or
all
of
their
horse(s)
• Sigh>ngs
of
flying
foxes
and
a
belief
that
a
HeV
case
is
likely
to
occur
in
their
area
are
among
the
most
influen>al
factors
on
owners’
risk
percep>on
of
flying
foxes
• The
majority
of
horse
owners
recognised
the
need
for
flying
foxes,
par>cularly
in
respect
to
the
important
role
they
play
in
the
environment
• These
findings
will
inform
government
agencies
and
the
equine
industry
on
a,tudes
of
horse
owners
towards
flying
foxes
in
regards
to
HeV
and
could
be
used
to
enhance
communica>on
around
risk
mi>ga>on
strategies
Such
factors
included:
1. Demographics
2. HeV
risk
awareness
and
risk
mi>ga>on
strategies,
including
vaccina>on
and
property
management
3. A,tudes
and
percep>on
towards
flying
foxes
and
camp
management
Figure
3:
Influence
of
sigh>ngs
of
flying
foxes
nearby
or
on
horse
proper>es
reported
by
horse
owners
and
the
likelihood
of
a
HeV
case
in
area
perceived
by
horse
owners
on
their
risk
percep>on
of
flying
foxes
0%
50%
100%
We
don't
need
them
They
should
not
be
protected
They
should
not
be
culled/shot
They
pose
a
significant
health
threat
to
people
They
play
an
important
role
in
the
environment
Propor>on
(%)
of
horse
owners
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Figure
1:
Loca>ons
of
HeV
cases
overlapping
with
the
distribu>on
of
flying
fox
popula>ons
Credit:
Silvia
2014
Credit:
Niland
2012
Horse
owners
displayed
various
a,tudes
towards
flying
foxes
in
regards
to
HeV
and
their
management
(see
Figure
2):
Factors
Influencing
Horse
Owners’
Risk
PercepGon
of
Flying
Foxes
to
Horse
Health
AJtudes
Towards
Flying
Foxes
Spectacled
flying
fox
(P.
conspicillatus)
Black
flying
fox
(P.
alecto)
Grey-­‐headed
flying
fox
(P.
poliocephalus)
Southern
inland
limit
of
likle
red
flying
fox
(P.
scapulatus)
HeV
spillover
event
loca>ons
Adapted
from
Hall
&
Richards
(2000)
The
University
of
Western
Sydney
was
contracted
by
the
Rural
Industries
Research
and
Development
Corpora>on
to
undertake
this
research
project.
This
research
was
funded
by
the
Commonwealth
of
Australia,
the
State
of
New
South
Wales
and
the
State
of
Queensland
under
the
Na>onal
Hendra
Virus
Research
Program.
(DAFF
2014;
NSW
DPI
2015)
Owners’
Percep>on
of
Flying
Foxes
as
a
Threat
0%
50%
100%
Yes
Unsure
No
Propor>on
Sigh>ngs
of
Flying
Foxes
Very
likely
Moderately
likely
Not
at
all
likely
Likelihood
of
HeV
in
Area
Yes
Unsure
No