Discovery Channel Teaches People How To Kill Bats

[G_j]

(from the channel that now also brings you Sarah Palin)


http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/discovery-channel-teaches-people-how-to-kill-bats/

Discovery Channel Teaches People How To Kill Bats
posted by: Beth Buczynski

Survival shows have become quite popular in recent years, encouraging people who rarely leave the city to think about what they would do if dropped out of a plane with nothing but a flashlight and paperclip.

Bear Grylls, star of the Discovery Channel series Man vs. Wild, has been the subject of criticism due to the fact that many elements of the show are completely staged, and because Grylls stays in a cushy base camp when not shooting (a far cry from actual survival).

Although the show is intended to serve only "educational" purposes, it has come under fire again, this time from conservationists who claim a recent episode teaches viewers how to harm wildlife rather than protect it.

From Bat Conservation International:

A recent episode of Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild featured Bear Grylls
gleefully killing bats with a homemade club. The clip, which shows Grylls
throwing a flame in a cave to "smoke out" the bats, swatting them to the
ground and then stomping on them, has aired internationally and been posted on YouTube, allowing for continued access.

(Update: Since this article was published, the video has been removed from YouTube).

Intentionally or not, this clip perpetuates negative attitudes toward bats and could generate senseless copycat activity and/or the type of vandalism that is driving many bat species to the brink of extinction. Only four months ago, a Kentucky man was sentenced to eight months in jail after pleading guilty to beating to death 105 endangered Indiana bats.

It is high time these "nature education" shows demonstrated environmental responsibility instead of sensationalism posing as education.


Please express your disgust at this anti-conservation message by
filling out the feedback form on Discovery Communications website. Let the Discovery executives know:
http://extweb.discovery.com/viewerrelations

This episode undermines decades of bat conservation efforts.
Bats are an important part of a healthy ecosystem. They eat agricultural pests, disperse seeds to replenish the rainforest and pollinate a variety of plants.

Many bats are endangered and the loss of a single species can have ramifications throughout the ecosystem. Viewers should be informed that killing bats-or even disturbing them-may be illegal depending on the species and country.

You would like Discovery Channel to ensure this edition of Born Survivor and related footage is not aired again and that this footage is removed from Youtube, the Discovery Channel website and all other communications.

[NYC_SKP]

1. Bear Grylls is a failure on so many levels. This doesn't surprise me at all.

But this is a new low.

Thanks for posting.

Discovery Communications is a pathetic excuse for a content provider.

:mad:

[Cetacea]

2. Thanks for the link.

Idiots.

[KittyWampus]

3. Sounds like he broke the law. Is it legal to disturb wild bats? To kill them? Wild animals

are protected around here. You can only kill them if there's a hunting season and you have a permit. Unless they are a nuisance, in which case you still need a permit.

Idiot realtors have developed wetlands around here and off course there are mosquitoes. Idiot homeowners then want the areas sprayed for mosquito larvae. So bats, barn swallows etc have fewer habitats.

I freaking dislike humans sometimes.

[madrchsod]

4. it is illegal in the state of Illinois

[PfcHammer]

5. There is a huge bat colony in Austin as well as conservancy there too

[havocmom]

10. Used to be huge bat colonies under the bleachers at stadium in Tucson

When they decided they needed to remodel to add snazzy private boxes, somebody convinced somebody else the bats had to go. Without fanfare, many thousand bats were killed.

Hmmm, a mosquito problem developed, particularly in the nice little neighborhoods around the UA campus. Officials blamed it on homeowners with potted plants on their patios; water standing in pot saucers.

Fucking asses. Those homes, those potted plants and saucers had been there for decades. But after the bats were destroyed, suddenly they were the problem.

Save the bats

[catgirl]

6. Done.

[Dappleganger]

7. Bats are good for eating mosquitoes, we even have a bat house in the yard

to try to keep them here.

When we lived in VA and were finishing off the basement, we found one sleeping on the wall (love how they do that!). Dh used a gloved hand to pull it off gently then released it outside.

BTW, I have one of these attached to our house for fun (because we love them so much):

[FedUpWithIt All]

9. Are they inhabiting your bat house?

Did you build it? We recently set out three bat houses and as of last month we haven't had any visitors yet. ::fingers crossed though:::

[Dappleganger]

14. Yes, they are.

Granted, the house has been there a couple of years so they know where it is. Dh built it out of redwood and it seems to be holding up well. How long has yours been out?

[FedUpWithIt All]

20. Only a few months. We built them over the winter.

We put them up this spring so i know it is a bit early.

:hi:

Did you do anything to try and attract them?

[EFerrari]

22. We have bats living in the low chaparral up here.

You can hear them calling out to each other and also just to find their way in the dark. I can't figure out what kind they are, though. Lot of bugs, so I imagine they never run out of stuff to eat.

[FedUpWithIt All]

24. They are pretty facinating animals.

:hi:

[Dappleganger]

23. Naw, just put it up in a tree next to the creek in our backyard.

The association does spray for skeeters but not all that well. There's plenty to dine on, that's for sure!

[FedUpWithIt All]

26. Thanks for letting me ask all the questions.

:hi:

We have 50 acres and the lower portion gets a lot of spring run off. It stays pretty wet. Seemed like bats and the water would be a natural mix. I did read somewhere, after we put the houses on the south sides of a few tall trees, that the bats prefer houses attached to walls. Since we have no walls on the land i was hoping the trees would suffice.

[FedUpWithIt All]

8. White Nose Syndrome is already decimating the bat population numbers.

All we need is for more destructive behavior to speed along the dying of all life on this planet. :eyes: I will be writing Discovery although i have been boycotting them and TLC for a long time due to exploitation issues.

More than one million bats have died in the U.S. In some hibernacula, 90 to 100 per cent of the bats have been reduced to a pile of bones. Aeolus Cave in East Dorset, Vt., - the largest hibernaculum in New England - once held an estimated 300,000 bats, says Scott Darling, a wildlife biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Now about one-tenth of the initial population remains.

The loss of so many bats has ramifications for humans and the ecosystem. Bats are ravenous predators of night-flying insects, moths, beetles and mosquitoes, some of which transmit human diseases and others that may damage crops and trees.

Some have likened their vanishing to bee colony collapse disorder.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Bats+dying+thousands/3086114/story.html#ixzz0pKlbvLEp

[frustrated_lefty]

11. Sad thing is there's no funding to research white nose syndrome

Each individual bat consume something like 300 insects a day? The spread of white nose syndrome seems like it will have a huge impact on agriculture. The combination of this and colony collapse disorder makes me think we humans are really starting to affect the very foundation of our ecosystem.

[FedUpWithIt All]

19. Humans often destroy things they don't understand.

I agree with you that this will have deep impact on our agriculture system. Particularly where things like livestock are concerned as bats eat massive amounts disease vectors. Of course this will also have a huge impact on human disease control.

People need environmental empathy to understand that they are not above, or even outside of nature. Empathy seems to be sorely lacking in the world.

[Wizard777]

12. I don't like bats. So I'm fine with it.

As far as I'm concerned this is like complaining about people killing roaches. Just Ewwwwwwwww.

Btw, Yes I am Chiroptophobic.

[G_j]

13. as far as you're concerned...

obviously not very far.

Shall we destroy the natural world to alleviate your phobias?

[Wizard777]

16. No it just means I won't be singing lead in the chorus of complainers.

I understand their importance to the environment. But when I see one all that logic is instantly replaced by an irrational fear. The worst part is I have no idea why I'm afraid of them. I just am. But if I knew that it wouldn't really be an irrational fear. I also have no control over it. I've walked two miles out of my way to avoid a street light with a bat flying under it.

[G_j]

18. I'm sorry

doesn't sound like much fun.

[Wizard777]

21. Not fun at all. The brain just short circuits and instinct takes over.

Psychologists are starting to look at some phobia's as obsolete hard wiring in the primal survival instincts. Left overs from a time when fearing flying, creeping and crawling things was very logical and provided for your longevity in a wild world. Having experienced these phobia induced panic attacks. That makes perfect sense to me. It's the only thing about the phobia that makes sense to me.

[Dappleganger]

15. Bats play an important part in the Earth's ecosystem...

it's not all about you.

[Wizard777]

17. I understand that. You just don't understand irrational fears.

All logic and rationality ceases. There is only fear and yes it is all about me. Because I will run over top of you to get away from that bat if need be. Ironically enough I am a retired executive bodyguard. This is like me giving you a fourth amendment lecture simply because you have an irrational fear of being shot. Just because I can keep my head standing in front of a gun that is about to be fired at me. That doesn't mean everyone is or has to be. As for the bat bullet analogy. To you a bullet represents flying death. To me a bat is flying death. Except I'm more afraid of the bat than the bullet. I've stepped in front of a bullet. I'll never step in front of a bat.

[cali]

25. I love bats and there is nothing roach like about them

they're wonderful animals and highly beneficial to the ecosystem.

[Wizard777]

27. I understand all that. I'm fine with the idea of bats until I see one.

Then I'm worse than a woman that's seen a mouse. Just looking at pictures of them makes my skin crawl.