Sir, - Kevin Myers's delightful article in praise of bats (June 1st) was a joy to read. He has quite correctly highlighted the importance of roof spaces as roosting sites for bats, whose welfare is increasingly threatened by man's activities, e.g., clearance of mixed woodland, use of insecticides, certain timber treatments, and replacement of old stone bridges by concrete and steel.
Female bats will by now have formed nursery colonies in attics, at gable ends and behind barge boards of some lucky house owners. The bats will each produce one baby during the next month or so, clustering together to keep the babies warm. They will emerge at dusk, eat a phenomenal amount of pesky mosquitoes, midges and other insects, returning to suckle their young. Disturbance, such as renovation work or timber treatment, if carried out during this time, can cause the mothers to abandon their dependent young. In fact the 1976 Wildlife Act protects all seven bat species, and the national Parks and Wildlife Service must be consulted for advice prior to carrying out any work which could disturb bats.
Many proud "roost hosts" delight in watching and counting "their" emerging bats at dusk, or wondering at the spectacle of their return at dawn.
The bats' business is to rear their young. They will usually vacate the nursery around September. The Dublin Bat Group (tel: 8347134) would be grateful for reports of roost sites, and would be pleased to give advice on protection of roosts.
Regarding the maintenance of bats as domestic pets - the only situation when this could be contemplated would be if a bat was found injured or orphaned. They rightly belong in the wild.
Mr Myers's ambition to kiss a bat can, however, be accommodated - my long term resident, Louis the Leisler's bat, who has an injured wing, is happy to oblige such enthusiasts - but no, lip gloss please! - Yours, etc.,
Dale View Park,
Ballybrack, Co Dublin.