Only bats that cannot be released back into the wild should be considered for education (releasable individuals
should be handled as little as possible). Further information about licence conditions for keeping bats for
education is provided in Legislation, licensing, equipment and expertise.
Daubenton’s bats should not be used for public engagement events.
All images of bats used for public engagement should be in gloved hands.
To reduce the risk of transmission of zoonotic disease any bat to be used for education must be kept isolated
from other bats for at least six months (also see Care and conditions section). This isolation period is essential
to ensure the health and safety of the bat, the handler and the general public.
Rehabilitators should be aware that the rabies virus (EBLV) can remain dormant in an individual for some
time, and as such, best practice and caution should be exercised before, during, and after the isolation period.
If the decision is made to keep the bat as a permanent captive (see Ethics section):
The general public should not be allowed to handle the bats,
Rehabilitators must wear gloves at all times when showing bats to the general public,
Ground rules for PR events should be based on the welfare of the bat. The RSPCA have produced some
useful guidelines www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/performinganimals.
Showing of a bat in the hand should only constitute the last few minutes of a talk,
Hand-wash facilities for the handler are necessary at events – to reduce the spread of zoonoses. Bat
carers can provide their own if necessary, for example, alcohol hand rub.