Join the Nightlife: 2024 Recap
October 31, 2024
Thanks to all the Join the Nightlife: Bats and Agriculture attendees who joined us out in the field this year! Guests got hands-on experience with
Throughout the history of bat conservation disease scare campaigns have been a dominant impediment to progress. Misrepresented warnings of scary diseases, such as SARS, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), MERS, and Ebola threaten to reverse decades of conservation progress. To date there is no evidence of transmission of any of these diseases from a bat to a human. Let’s remember that millions of bats have long histories of living in cities without evidence of resulting pandemics.
Currently, we are told not to blame bats for being dangerous, that they are essential to healthy ecosystems and shouldn’t be killed. This message is eroded when accompanied by disclaimers urging us to stay away from bats, and images of researchers in protective uniforms working with bats. We should avoid mixed messages, mindful that people seldom tolerate and often kill animals they fear. The survival of our expanding human population may depend on learning to live in harmony with nature.
Fear of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from humans to bats has led government agencies in many countries to prohibit, or severely limit, research that requires physical capture. We had early concerns about premature action that could prove worse than none at all. It saddens me greatly to see the public, as well as a new generation of young scientists, made needlessly fearful of bats. Historically, bats have one of our planet’s finest records of not spreading disease. In my 60-year career studying bats, I’ve known hundreds of colleagues, none of whom were protected against, nor contracted, any of the so-called “emerging diseases.” For decades, bat researchers and rehabilitators worldwide, like veterinarians, have been vaccinated for rabies to protect against defensive bites from unfamiliar animals we handle.
I’m far safer in the field with bats than in a city with fellow humans. And where I’ve been, bats are safer due to my educational efforts that reduced fear–the opposite of what happens where people receive exaggerated warnings about speculated diseases. I provide the following questions in hope of contributing to a healthier, happier future for all concerned.
The big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), the first, and thus far the only, American species tested for susceptibility, was found to be highly resistant1. We are unlikely to resolve the question for all species, so it’s time to ask the following questions.
Veterinarian Renee Schott has pointed out that we can’t control the public’s interactions with bats. She believes that wherever bats are susceptible transmission cannot be prevented. Thousands of people worldwide encounter bats that enter their homes and in the Old-World bats are widely hunted for food. Most people aren’t even aware of restrictions now being applied to professional bat workers. In addition, domestic cats are effective transmitters2 that commonly hunt bats.
Early COVID precautions seemed prudent. However, a review of unintended consequences suggests that restrictions on bat workers may be providing bats the wrong kinds of protection. Widely implemented guidelines requiring sterilization of equipment, use of protective gear, and avoidance of handling bats, are causing unanticipated problems. For example, they have forced termination of vital training workshops, seriously compromised essential field studies, and caused graduate students to abandon conservation-relevant projects. Bat rehabilitators cannot respond to public requests for assistance, leaving untrained individuals to take unnecessary risks. And conservationists are required to wear masks and other protective gear that heightens public perceptions of bats as dangerous.
Based on these considerations, it seems undeniable that all concerned would benefit from a return to pre-COVID practices: universal pre-exposure rabies vaccination, use of gloves to the extent feasible to minimize bites, and education for bat workers regarding areas and actions of unique risk.
Based on these considerations, it seems undeniable that all concerned would benefit from a return to pre-COVID practices: universal pre-exposure rabies vaccination, use of gloves to the extent feasible to minimize bites, and education for bat workers regarding areas and actions of unique risk.
We’d like to hear about your experience with these restrictions. Please fill out and share this brief survey.
References
Love our content? Support us by sharing it!
Thanks to all the Join the Nightlife: Bats and Agriculture attendees who joined us out in the field this year! Guests got hands-on experience with
Supporter and friend of MTBC, Australian conservation and animal welfare photojournalist Doug Gimesy, had his images recognized in two categories at the recent Siena International
Fieldwork requires a lot of equipment, but photography requires even more! During our June 2024 photography workshop, we transported over 100 lbs. of equipment —
Within the dim limestone passageways of Caverna Santa Catalina, the air came alive with bats. I stood in awed silence, taking in the rush of
2024 © Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation. All rights reserved.
Michael Lazari Karapetian has over twenty years of investment management experience. He has a degree in business management, is a certified NBA agent, and gained early experience as a money manager for the Bank of America where he established model portfolios for high-net-worth clients. In 2003 he founded Lazari Capital Management, Inc. and Lazari Asset Management, Inc. He is President and CIO of both and manages over a half a billion in assets. In his personal time he champions philanthropic causes. He serves on the board of Moravian College and has a strong affinity for wildlife, both funding and volunteering on behalf of endangered species.