What is the council thinking?
Worldwide, bats and flying foxes are increasingly recognised as reservoir hosts for viruses which can cross species' barriers to infect humans and other domestic and wild mammals.
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Such viruses include SARS, SARS-CoV2, Lyssavirus, Hendra, Leptospirosis, Histoplasmosis, even Salmonella.
Therefore, it seems beyond comprehension that the Bendigo Council and its wildlife officers are planning to encourage even more of these frightening animals to take up comfortable residence in the very centre of our city, in the middle of our treasured Rosalind Park - within a couple of hundred metres of a busy primary school and playground, contaminating surfaces with their incessant faeces.
This is completely discounting the damage being done to the highly valued and historic trees in Rosalind Park, many of which are already showing signs of real stress in their crowns!
Melbourne Botanic Gardens successfully managed the relocation of their large and permanent bat colony to a more suitable space away from such a dense population centre, so why isn't the Bendigo Council investigating this 'management option'?
It seems that the bat colony in our park is not a 'temporary influx' at all, but a serious and growing problem for all of us.
Kate Mary Cronk, Golden Square
Unbelievable in this day and age
I am hardly likely to be the only aggrieved person who has missed getting tickets through Gotix for the forthcoming Paul Kelly concert in Bendigo.
Tickets were released for sale at noon on May 20, with much pre-publicity.
Logging on to the Gotix site (frustrating), shortly after noon, I am advised "sold out".
OK, so I've been beaten to the punch by people who can use computers et al quicker than me. Right?
Well, hang on, I can buy tickets after all as I find my attention drawn to a site (Viagogo) that allows me to purchase tickets - at triple the original asking priceI
I then phoned the Gotix office in Bendigo as no doubt had many others and had a galling half-hour wait.
The person I spoke to was polite and pleasant to deal with, but confirmed heavy demand for the tickets meant they were sold out and that many tickets would have been pre-sold to priority purchasers.
This infuriates me as, like so many things these days, the middle man is like a parasite that intervenes between the provider and the consumer in a way that the consumer is held to ransom.
The point is, I thought these practices were outlawed, but clearly under the auspices of the Bendigo Council, the rogues are getting away with it.
John Wright, Kennington
Unites States of disarray
In the US, many liberals and progressives are continuing to wear masks outdoors despite being vaccinated. The reason for that is so people will not mistake them for a Republican, or, heaven forbid, a Trump supporter.
Is there any wonder they all look so miserable and stressed out? Imagine living with that sort of stuff going on in your head?