3 ms·

Bats are a big reservoir for human diseases. Examples include rabies, possibly Covid, and potentially Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers. Are we sure it is a g

Bats are a big reservoir for human diseases. Examples include rabies, possibly Covid, and potentially Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers. Are we sure it is a good idea to encourage bats to be in close proximity to humans?

isodev 3y ago
The upsides far outweigh the risks. Bats are very good at pest control and even help with dispersing seeds and pollinating plants. My favourite feature of theirs is that they take care of all the mosquitos so no need to buy or use repellent.
- p-e-w 3y ago
  > The upsides far outweigh the risks. You can't be serious. A disease that originated in bats just killed 15-25 million people and shut the entire world down for two years. > My favourite feature of theirs is that they take care of all the mosquitos I live in a place where bats abound, and I can assure you that they don't.
  - herbst 3y ago
    Sometimes it's best to just kill out a species so we can be a tiny bit safer!
  - tremon 3y ago
    Malaria still kills half a million people each year, and has been doing so for centuries. Then there's Dengue fever, West-Nile virus and Zika. I'd say the scales are tipped in favour of keeping around some of those mosquito-killing bats.
  - wiseowise 3y ago
    > You can't be serious. A disease that originated in bats just killed 15-25 million people and shut the entire world down for two years. Maybe someone should not have eaten them? Or maybe let’s extend your logic to humans, see how easy it works?
- jbandela1 3y ago
  > My favourite feature of theirs is that they take care of all the mosquitos so no need to buy or use repellent. I am not so sure about that. I don’t think bats are either necessary or sufficient for effective malaria control. In parts of the world where there are bats, you still have a problem with mosquito borne illnesses such as malaria.

3 ms·

Bats are a big reservoir for human diseases. Examples include rabies, possibly Covid, and potentially Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers. Are we sure it is a g

by jbandela1 3y ago

isodev 3y ago
The upsides far outweigh the risks. Bats are very good at pest control and even help with dispersing seeds and pollinating plants. My favourite feature of theirs is that they take care of all the mosquitos so no need to buy or use repellent.
- p-e-w 3y ago
  > The upsides far outweigh the risks. You can't be serious. A disease that originated in bats just killed 15-25 million people and shut the entire world down for two years. > My favourite feature of theirs is that they take care of all the mosquitos I live in a place where bats abound, and I can assure you that they don't.
  - herbst 3y ago
    Sometimes it's best to just kill out a species so we can be a tiny bit safer!
  - tremon 3y ago
    Malaria still kills half a million people each year, and has been doing so for centuries. Then there's Dengue fever, West-Nile virus and Zika. I'd say the scales are tipped in favour of keeping around some of those mosquito-killing bats.
  - wiseowise 3y ago
    > You can't be serious. A disease that originated in bats just killed 15-25 million people and shut the entire world down for two years. Maybe someone should not have eaten them? Or maybe let’s extend your logic to humans, see how easy it works?
- jbandela1 3y ago
  > My favourite feature of theirs is that they take care of all the mosquitos so no need to buy or use repellent. I am not so sure about that. I don’t think bats are either necessary or sufficient for effective malaria control. In parts of the world where there are bats, you still have a problem with mosquito borne illnesses such as malaria.