Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Rabid Bats

Title: Re: [RC] Rabid Bats

> Hey all,
> please forgive me if I get on a soap box for a minute, especially
> concerning a non-horse related topic. . .
>  
> I really
> hate to see negative publicity about bats -- one of the world's most
> beneficial and most misunderstood/feared animals.
>  
> As someone
> on here mentioned, bats get a bad rap because they seem to die and be
> found more than other animals.  The reason that bats get such a
> bad rap is because when a bat is sick, it falls to the ground. 
> When a bat falls to the ground, some idiotic person (usually
> well-meaning) messes with it and ends up getting
> bitten. 
>  
> Bats DO NOT
> CARRY rabies. . . they CONTRACT it, just like humans.  They get
> sick, they die, and if left alone, it ends
> there. 
>  
> So please,
> please, please continue supporting and preserving bat populations, and
> consider yourself fortunate to have them around.
>  
> For more
> information about bats and rabies you can check out
> basicallybats.com.
>  
> Beth
> Bennett
> Endurance
> Rider/Caver/Retired Bat Mom

The basicallybats link doesn't seem to work, but there's lots of good information at:

 http://www.batconservation.org/content/batsandhumans/batsandhumans.htm

Where bats are, mosquitos aren't (I spent a week camping next to our swampy local river this spring and didn't even hear a buzz -- but saw lots of bats flying at dusk) -- and with West Nile Virus on the move, anything that will take out mosquitos without me or my horses needing to get doused with pesticides or repellants is A Good Thing.