The Bats in Bendigo have a bit of a reputation for taking over Rosalind Park – mid-last year the 38,000 bats that reside in the park stopped an air ambulance from landing at the local hospital.
But Animal Justice Party Member for Northern Victoria, Georgie Purcell says that bats are misunderstood, especially when more often than not in cartoons they are made out to be scary and/or evil.
Many native plant species rely on Victorian Bats to pollinate and thrive, meaning that other native animals rely on them for habitat and food.
Local wildlife rescuers say they’ve never seen so many pups needing care and rehabilitation.
Dangerous netting that the Animal Justice Party made illegal to sell in 2021 has not been taken down in many locations across the state, leaving many bats tangled in them, often dying, and, because of the climate crisis, bats have less floral food than normal.
The Animal Justice Party is currently working on an education and awareness campaign about how important bats are to the environment as pollinators, but also what people can do to help them.
MP Georgie Purcell, sat down with Gold Central Victoria’s in-house Journalist, Tayla Oates, to talk about what can be done to protect native bats across the state and why locals should be kinder to the residents of Rosalind Park.
