“This issue has received a lot of news attention and provides a great opportunity for us to get the story right about bats,” Bonilla says. “Bats are incredible creatures which are misunderstood. There are myths that ‘all bats carry rabies.’ This is false. Studies have shown that less than 1 percent of bats have been found to carry rabies. A person has a better chance of winning the state lottery jackpot than catching rabies from a bat …”

Bonilla adds: “Due to Mayor Jacobs’ objection, we are withdrawing our memo and my office will no longer work with the county staff on this project. We will continue to work on this project in conjunction with the Florida Bat Conservancy. We welcome all community partners who would like to collaborate with us on this issue.”