{"id":104335,"date":"2024-09-25T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=104335"},"modified":"2024-09-25T10:48:59","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T00:48:59","slug":"watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WILDLIFE authorities have put the spotlight on the extent of grey-headed flying fox injuries and deaths from illegal netting entanglements, as organisations unite to educate community gardeners about better fruit tree netting ahead of the spring growing season.<\/p>\n<p>In the first six months of 2024, Wildlife Victoria recorded more than 110 cases involving flying foxes caught in illegal household netting, exceeding the total reported in all of 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Licensed wildlife carers also rescued and rehabilitated more than 400 flying fox pups between July 2023 and June 2024.<\/p>\n<p>These incidents were reported to the Conservation Regulator, and wildlife experts suspect many pups ended up in care after being separated from their mothers, many of whom were likely to have been entangled in household fruit tree netting.<\/p>\n<p>The Conservation Regulator, Zoos Victoria, RSPCA Victoria, Wildlife Victoria, and Animal Welfare Victoria have partnered to address the dangers illegal household netting poses to wildlife, especially native bat species, and remind household growers to use safe, compliant fruit tree netting.<\/p>\n<p>Since September 1, 2021, it has been illegal in Victoria to use or sell household fruit tree netting with a mesh size bigger than 5mm x 5mm, as larger mesh netting is more likely to entangle, distress, and seriously injure or kill animals.<\/p>\n<p>To help check if netting is compliant, try poking a finger through the mesh &#8211; if a finger can pass through, it is too big.<\/p>\n<p>Experts also encourage:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Using white-coloured netting with a cross-weave design to help nocturnal animals see and avoid it at night<\/li>\n<li>Tightly securing netting to a frame or tree trunk to prevent trapping terrestrial species, and<\/li>\n<li>Protecting selected branches with fruit bags or sleeves, rather than netting the whole tree.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Grey-headed flying-foxes play an important part in our ecosystem as their diet of fruit and nectar from more than 100 species of native flowering and fruiting plants helps pollinate trees and disperse seeds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re urging all household fruit growers to ensure they understand the law and have compliant fruit netting that protects both native wildlife and your household fruit trees,&#8221; Chief Conservation Regulator Kate Gavens said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A small change to your netting can make a big difference to the welfare of animals like grey-headed flying-foxes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If community members find a flying-fox trapped in fruit tree netting, call an experienced, vaccinated wildlife rescuer to assist. Do not attempt to touch or handle it yourself.<\/p>\n<p>To find a rescuer, phone 13 61 86 or use the Help for Injured Wildlife Tool by heading to <a href=\"https:\/\/wildlife.vic.gov.au\/hfiw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildlife.vic.gov.au\/hfiw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For more information on how to protect both household fruit trees and wildlife, head to <a href=\"https:\/\/wildlife.vic.gov.au\/managing-wildlife\/wildlife-and-fruit-trees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wildlife.vic.gov.au\/managing-wildlife\/wildlife-and-fruit-trees<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WILDLIFE authorities have put the spotlight on the extent of grey-headed flying fox injuries and deaths from illegal netting entanglements, as organisations unite to educate community gardeners about better fruit tree netting ahead of the spring growing season. In the first six months of 2024, Wildlife Victoria recorded more than 110 cases involving flying foxes [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":104336,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-104335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Protect wildlife &amp; your harvest! Use safe fruit netting (5mm x 5mm mesh) to avoid injuring flying foxes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes - Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Protect wildlife &amp; your harvest! Use safe fruit netting (5mm x 5mm mesh) to avoid injuring flying foxes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"jamespetertaylor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-24T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-25T00:48:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg?_t=1727225339\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@notthatjt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2655215c02475fb33ffa43a1c8fe2677\"},\"headline\":\"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-24T18:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-25T00:48:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":437,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes - Geelong Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-24T18:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-25T00:48:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Protect wildlife & your harvest! Use safe fruit netting (5mm x 5mm mesh) to avoid injuring flying foxes.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Non-compliant netting can trap a flying fox, as seen here. Photo: SUPPLIED\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"width\":248,\"height\":37,\"caption\":\"Geelong Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2655215c02475fb33ffa43a1c8fe2677\",\"name\":\"James Taylor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Taylor\"},\"description\":\"James\u2019 first job in journalism was at the Bendigo Advertiser, where he held a number of roles, including reporter, sub-editor and arts and features writer. He has also worked for several publications at Fairfax, including the Knox Weekly, Casey Weekly and Pakenham Weekly, and in the UK with the Berkshire Media Group. Raised in Geelong, James has been back in his hometown since 2011 and now lives in Waurn Ponds. Outside of journalism, James divides his time between barracking for the Cats, chasing his two-year-old daughter around, and posting on Twitter (@notthatjt).\",\"sameAs\":[\"jamespetertaylor\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/@notthatjt\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/author\\\/jamestaylor\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes - Geelong Times","description":"Protect wildlife & your harvest! Use safe fruit netting (5mm x 5mm mesh) to avoid injuring flying foxes.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes - Geelong Times","og_description":"Protect wildlife & your harvest! Use safe fruit netting (5mm x 5mm mesh) to avoid injuring flying foxes.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/","og_site_name":"Geelong Times","article_author":"jamespetertaylor","article_published_time":"2024-09-24T18:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-25T00:48:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg?_t=1727225339","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@notthatjt","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Taylor","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/"},"author":{"name":"James Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/2655215c02475fb33ffa43a1c8fe2677"},"headline":"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes","datePublished":"2024-09-24T18:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-25T00:48:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/"},"wordCount":437,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/","name":"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes - Geelong Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-24T18:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-25T00:48:59+00:00","description":"Protect wildlife & your harvest! Use safe fruit netting (5mm x 5mm mesh) to avoid injuring flying foxes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/Untitled-design-1-3.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Non-compliant netting can trap a flying fox, as seen here. Photo: SUPPLIED"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/watch-your-fruit-netting-and-save-flying-foxes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Watch your fruit netting and save flying foxes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","name":"Geelong Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization","name":"Geelong Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","width":248,"height":37,"caption":"Geelong Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/2655215c02475fb33ffa43a1c8fe2677","name":"James Taylor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Taylor"},"description":"James\u2019 first job in journalism was at the Bendigo Advertiser, where he held a number of roles, including reporter, sub-editor and arts and features writer. He has also worked for several publications at Fairfax, including the Knox Weekly, Casey Weekly and Pakenham Weekly, and in the UK with the Berkshire Media Group. Raised in Geelong, James has been back in his hometown since 2011 and now lives in Waurn Ponds. Outside of journalism, James divides his time between barracking for the Cats, chasing his two-year-old daughter around, and posting on Twitter (@notthatjt).","sameAs":["jamespetertaylor","https:\/\/x.com\/@notthatjt"],"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/author\/jamestaylor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104335"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=104335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}