Bats need your help, and you may not know it, but you need their help even more.
The Mexican free-tailed bat is the most common species in Texas. They rank among the most ecologically and economically important animals in North America, consuming staggering numbers of insects nightly, a large proportion of which are agricultural pests. Nevertheless, they are in alarming decline. For example, a population decline in Eagle Creek Cave was documented from over 25 million in 1963 to just 30,000 six years later. Human disturbance and vandalism, especially during maternity season, is likely the single most serious causes of decline. Grossly exaggerated media stories about rabies have led to the intentional destruction of large colonies. Sadly, Texas is one of only 7 states that offer no protection for bats during maternity season. Because of this, entire nursery colonies are often destroyed when they roost in buildings. We realize that humans should not share their living or work space with wildlife, but there are humane, safe and effective means to remove bats from buildings that do not involve killing. That is where we need your help.
Please watch this video below, and also see our proposed Draft of a new Bill to offer protection for bats (verbiage below the video). If you agree that this bill needs to be passed, please send us permission to use your logo or name in support of this bill. That is all we are asking from you – nothing more at all.
P.S. Links to the scientific articles cited in the video can also be found below.
- Draft of new bill
Sec. 63.101. PROTECTION OF BATS. (a) It shall be unlawful to euthanize or kill a bat unless a bite or potential exposure to rabies has occurred. Bat colonies may be controlled in a building or structure by exclusion only. Exclusion shall not occur during maternity season from May 1 through August 31st. Bats shall not be controlled by any lethal methods including trapping and relocating, sticky traps, chemicals, aerosol animal repellents, ultrasonic devices, sealing bats inside a roost or exterminating that may actually be dangerous to people and pets. - Except as provided by Subsection (b), no person may:
(1) hunt, kill, or confine a bat; or
(2) sell, offer for sale, purchase, offer to purchase, or possess after purchase a bat or any part of a bat, dead or alive. - (b) This section does not apply to:
(1) an animal control officer, a peace officer, or a health official who captures a bat after a potential exposure to rabies has occurred - (2) a person who transports a bat for the purpose of laboratory testing if the bat has exposed or potentially exposed humans or domestic animals to rabies.
Sec. 63.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) “Exclusion device” means a device which allows escape from and blocks re-entry into a
roost site located within a structure.
ARTICLES CITED
- Death by vending machine
- TX Department of Agriculture Stats
- Placing a dollar value on bats
- The corn earworm
- Texas A&M Entomology-corn earworm
- Bracken cave – 100 tons of insects consumed nightly
- Texas bats consume 4-billion corn earworm moths nightly
- Do bat deaths mean more mosquitos?
- Texas bats save producers over $1.4 billion annually
- Cotton – the leading cash crop in Texas
- Free-tail bats regulate insects
- Bats track pest populations
- Economic value of free-tail bats
- Texas growers annually produce 20 million hundredweight of rice
- Texas rice, endless possibilities
- Texas rice adds 200-million to the economy
- Importance of natural habitat to bats
- State of Bats in North America
- Free-tail bats and moths
- More than half of the continents bats are facing population loss
- Species account of free-tailed bats
- Texas state agriculture chart
- Bats – farmer’s secret pest control weapon
- Bats, hay and armyworms
- Pest suppression by bats
- TX Tribune – losing one bat after another
- Bats and the Congress Avenue bridge
- Threats to bat conservation
- TPWD – free-tail bats