AUGUST RESCUE REPORT
Bat World Sanctuary and our affiliated satellite centers rescued 320 bats this August! Not only do we rescue bats locally, but we also work as a 911-hotline for bat rescues worldwide, and this month 75% of rescues came from our hard-working international centers. We take multiple calls daily from people who have found bats needing help and we connect them with their nearest rescuers. To see our daily rescue log, click here. We also provide humane exclusion advice to businesses and homeowners with unwanted colonies roosting in buildings. To learn more about our satellite centers, click here.
A BIG WIN FOR BATS!
For years, Etsy has been one of the largest online platforms that permitted the sale of deceased bats. Bats are killed by the thousands overseas for the purpose of import into the United States, and despite this, are often labeled as “ethically sourced.” They wind up for sale on sites like Etsy, Amazon, and eBay, and are purchased by unsuspecting members of the public, who believe they are buying an ethical specimen.
We, along with other bat rescuers and conservationists, have been working to stop this practice for years. We are so happy to report that as of July 29th, Etsy has BANNED the sale of deceased bats specimens! This is a massive win for bat conservation, and we are thrilled that Etsy has taken this step in protecting keystone species. Click here to view the new policy.
If you have a free moment, we implore our followers to visit Etsy and search for taxidermy bats and bat skeletons. If you see any active listings, hit “report this item to Etsy.” While a large portion of the listings have been removed, many still remain on the site.
We’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who made this possible! While we still have a long way to go (i.e., Ebay and Amazon), bats are safer now that Etsy has taken the lead.
WING WASTING UPDATE
Out of the over 143 total bats that came into our care suffering from wing wasting last month, all but 40 of them have been either released or transferred to other rescue centers while they continue to heal. Out of the remaining 40, only 2 of them are still currently in need of treatment, while the others have been moved in with our permanent colony to continue to regrow their damaged wing membrane and practice their flying skills, as seen in the video below.
The majority of the remaining bats may become permanent residents here at the sanctuary. However, we will continue to see how they progress as they recover and encourage them to take flight once again. Any bat who is able to successfully pass the flight test will be released to fly free in the wild, and the others will have a forever home here with our colony of other rescued freetails.