WIMBLEDON is facing calls to move parts of its iconic queue – to save bats.
A short section of the lengthy path to The Championships, where 10,000 people a day have camped or waited to get in, runs through a Wimbledon Park bat protection zone.
Queuers are not allowed to stand in the zone and are moved through quickly to avoid disturbing the nocturnal mammals.
Activists claimed that tournament bosses should shift the queue entirely over fears it could be disturbing the protected animals.
Simon Wright, of the Save Wimbledon Park group, said the queue was defeating the point of a conservation area.
The campaigner, who is contesting the All England Club’s planned expansion, added: “The queue could be on their own land.
“Every year, we lose more of the park to the queue, and every year, they start building it earlier.
“There has not been a consideration of the impact of their plans on wildlife all the way through, so I’m not particularly surprised that they’re doing this.
“I’m a big fan of the bats of Wimbledon Park because it’s a lovely thing to do to go and sit by the lake at dusk and watch the bats feeding on the insects as they fly around.
“It’s completely ridiculous to have a bat protection zone and then put a load of people through it.
“Just walking through will still disturb the bats’ natural environment, and they’re very sensitive creatures.”
No WiFi is available in the zone as critical wireless hardware used to beam signals to fans’ phones is not allowed.
But hopeful queuers are permitted to walk through the zone despite a drive to conserve the eight protected bat species in the 67-acre Wimbledon Park.
The move is not linked to WiFi signals, though previous studies have claimed radio waves can damage bats’ “magnetic compass”.
It can prevent the animals from remembering where their shelters are.
A 2017 study found birds, insects and plants are likely being harmed by electromagnetic radiation from Wi-Fi, cell phone towers, broadcast transmitters and power lines.
Birds and insects affected by radio waves can become disorientated, though generally most are unaffected.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Wimbledon’s organisers, who were asked to comment.
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