Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

boundbylife t1_iy8l5qw wrote

I am so torn about this. on the one hand, bats are TREMENDOUS consumers of pests, making them invaluable for agriculture. On the other hand, due to their hyperactive immune system, they are prime vectors for rabies.

−18

radioloudly t1_iy8lw5p wrote

the impact on agriculture they have is much larger than the chance of being bitten by a rabid bat

17

BrainCrane t1_iy8p0dp wrote

While you're correct about bats being the leading cause of rabies, there are only about 1-3 cases of rabies reported in the US each year. There's not a lot to be torn about, we need bats. Plain and simple. In a night of hunting, some bats will eat an insect every other second. Mosquito, fly, midge, moth and locust populations would all skyrocket if we didn't have bats. This is very bad news for us all. It seems hopeless, but another reason bat populations are declining so rapidly is loss of habitat, so please build, buy and install bat houses wherever possible. A couple bat houses across a town can provide a good shelter to over a thousand bats.

8