Chaos Has Broken Out In New Zealand After A Bat Was Named 'Bird Of The Year' Despite Not Being In The Avian Family

NY Post- The bat is getting its due — at the expense of birds.

New Zealand has named the bat their “Bird of the Year,” despite the now-controversial fact that bats are not of the avian family.

Bats are regarded as New Zealand’s only native land mammal, and under threat of extinction — as well as public scrutiny as of late due to its potential link to the initial coronavirus outbreak in 2020.

It’s the first time a non-bird has been honored with the award, angering some birders who claim the mammalian animal stole the election from the rightful Aves class.

Approximately 7,000 voters favored the bat against some 200 New Zealand-native species of bird.

New Zealand bending the rules when it's come to the aviary world? Unbelievable! I don't know how I feel about this betrayal of the birds New Zealand did, but I'm very much here for both the controversy and the hatred of bats because I'm someone that's really just not interested in anything vampire-related. It's absolutely a tough sell to consider a bat a bird considering there's not much hair on there, they screech like little devils, and are historically hated by all. I personally find you to be a crazy person if you're one of those people that goes into the bat exhibits at the zoo. What's the pleasure in that? Just doesn't register in my brain why you'd want to roam around a bat's den solely to inevitably feel that there's bats crawling on you. Not for me.

And there was so much potential left on the board with other birds. How about a condor? You ever see a fucking condor? They're literally SICK. I don't even know if there's condors in New Zealand yet they're cool enough to keep saying it over and over again. Also don't even get me started on Falcons. Falcons are awesome. And after a quick google i've just learned there's even penguins in New Zealand. I'll take a penguin over a bat 24/7/365. Petition to simply just make the penguin the bird of the year every year for the rest of time.

Hopefully it was just a publicity stunt in the name of bats.

Some have criticized the call as a publicity stunt to recuperate the bat’s brand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, while others celebrate the surprise pick.