Bat tests positive for rabies

[Big Jim]

Being in possession of one, dead or alive, (without a permit!), is an offence, yes.

Chris, not quite true.  You are allowed to Tend/care for a bat solely for the purpose of restoring it to health and subsequent release. There have been recent changes to the Habitats Regulations which will now require anyone keeping injured bats for longer than 6 months (I seem to remember) to have a licence to do so.  This is something some bat workers do with bats who's injuries will mean they will never be able to be released and hence they use these captive bats for eduction purposes. 

As regards the Rabies - lets try and keep it in perspective... 7 bats out of over 6000 tested < 0.1%.  The chanches of anyone not involved with bat work getting bitten is also extremely minimal - unless they are of course handling a bat without an NE licence to do so.  Daubentons, like most myotis bats (which do use caves) tend to be tucked away in crevices out of reach/sight (unlike Horseshoe sp.)

If you really are that worried about the risk - go get pre-exposure jabs. 

Link below to BCT report....

http://www.bats.org.uk/news.php/17/daubentons_bat_tests_positive_for_european_bat_lyssavirus_type_2

 

[cap n chris]

Thanks for the alive bit: didn't know about that!

As for the dead bit....

From Bats and the Law document:

"It is illegal to possess a dead bat. This is an offence of strict liability, i.e. the onus of proof is on the person in possession of the bat to show, on a balance of probabilities, that they have it lawfully".

 

[Blitz]

Oh deep joy!

So how do I prove that the two Lesser Horseshoe bats left on the rug in my back room the other week really were killed by the cat?  :-\  He doesn't do it often but last time it was a double kill.  It's usually voles from the garden and you then get anything from just the bowels to the full body left.  With the two bats recently both appeared completely undamaged - just dead!

Blitz

 

[gus horsley]

Oh deep joy!

So how do I prove that the two Lesser Horseshoe bats left on the rug in my back room the other week really were killed by the cat?   :-\  He doesn't do it often but last time it was a double kill.  It's usually voles from the garden and you then get anything from just the bowels to the full body left.  With the two bats recently both appeared completely undamaged - just dead!

Blitz

You don't have to prove anything Blitz, just make sure your cat suffers an untimely demise as compensation for knocking off a couple of rare mammals!

 

[Big Jim]

Oh deep joy!

So how do I prove that the two Lesser Horseshoe bats left on the rug in my back room the other week really were killed by the cat?   :-\  He doesn't do it often but last time it was a double kill.  It's usually voles from the garden and you then get anything from just the bowels to the full body left.  With the two bats recently both appeared completely undamaged - just dead!

Blitz

If it happens again, contact your local Bat Group whom I'm sure would be happy to get their hands on a couple of Rhino' corpses for their own research purposes or to send off for Rabies testing.  Contacts should be easy to track down via the Bat Conservation Turst Website or give local Natural Engalnd Office a call.

 

[mrodoc]

If you get bitten by a bat you should get rabies immunisation. this happened to one of my patients last summer (he picked up a bat to show some birdwatchers it wasn't a bird) and the public health lab took it very seriously. The bat flew off of course so it couldn't be tested.  I was surprised that the microbiologist hadn't heard about the scottish case - so one up to me there.

 

[docfunk]

Speaking about horseshoe bats i took this of one i found.

 

[Peter Burgess]

Ah, then you must have a licence. 

 

[cap n chris]

Do you get the application form at the Post Office, or online somewhere?

 

[docfunk]

Ah, then you must have a licence. 

I have a car and bike licence but thats all,i stumbled accross them whilst exploring some cave entrances high up on the walls of a quarry near Exeter,then made a swift exit as not to disturb them :halo:

 

[Cookie]

Have a read of this lest some do-gooder decides to make your life a misery. 

http://www.bats.org.uk/publications_download.php/250/batsunderground.pdf