Due to the current worldwide spread of the SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2), which causes the disease Covid-19 in humans, people working in bat conservation and bat research in Germany receive an increasing number of concerned enquiries from the general public. The reason for this concern is the fact that the media regularly refer to bats as the origin of the novel virus. This highly simplified representation of a more complex issue leads to increasing antipathy towards native bats, all of which are critically endangered species.
For this reason, various organizations in the field of bat conservation and bat research have compiled a fact sheet with the latest research results. The three most important facts are:
- The occurrence and spread of SARS-CoV 2 and other zoonoses are a direct consequence of the devastating treatment of animals and ecosystems by humans. “This virus is also the price of our exploitation of nature," writes the Director General of the Museum of Natural History Berlin, Johannes Vogel, in a guest article in Der Tagesspiegel
- Native bats are not transmitting SARS-CoV 2.
- Hurting bats because of a supposed health hazard is not only punishable by law but also harmful because these animals are important and indispensable players in ecosystems worldwide.
The information sheet with detailed information and names of all institutions involved can be found here.
Help us to protect bats - for nature.