Image of bats is improving

LONG before Hollywood began to associate bats with blood-sucking vampires and drive the fear of God into people, bats had a poor public image.

In Europe, in the Middle Ages, for example, bats were blamed for the spread of disease and they are still persecuted in some parts of the continent.

In Ireland, however, the general perception of bats has improved and the positive role of the bat is being highlighted. Special provision is also being made for bat roosts in the design of roads and bridges, while the use of abandoned houses and old farm buildings for roosts is also encouraged.

And, of course, the vast majority of people no longer believe that bats can attack humans. Another myth is that bats can get stuck in you hair.

From personal experience of walking along a tree-shaded boreen at dusk, I have often felt bats just go over my head. But there has never been a collision of any sort! In fact, it’s quite a nice feeling as they skim a receding hairline and certainly not scary.

This year, a good deal has been done to promote bat awareness here. Bat experts from all over Europe, the Middle East and North Africa assembled in Dublin Castle for the first Eurobats Advisory Committee Meeting to be held in Ireland.

On the agenda were issues such as how best to protect bats during the development of windfarms, roads and forestry, as well as best practice for monitoring bats and the latest developments in bat diseases and bat-tracking technology.

There are only nine species of bats in Ireland, all protected under Irish and EU law, while 52 species have been identified in Europe. In some countries, bat conservation is in its infancy and harmless bats are persecuted.

At home, farmers and even urban dwellers are learning more about the importance of bats to the natural world and how they serve a useful purpose in pest and insect control. The Lough, in Cork city, is believed to be home to five bat species, while a derelict house in the Lee Valley, Co Cork, is thought to host one of the country’s biggest bat colonies.

Many people have been introduced to bats through bat walks and bat talks organised by Bat Conservation Ireland.

Peregrine falcons and kestrels are among bat predators but, some experts now say the domestic cat, using its acute sense of hearing, is probably the main killer of bats.