I often wonder if it's in the best interest of humans to exterminate bats. Seems like it's only a matter of time until the next horrendous virus, created by bats, wreaks havoc.
> Maybe exterminating fruit-eating bats wouldn't be as bad
Maybe not as bad but still bad because they are pollinators and spread seeds. The article says:
> Bats provide many beneficial ecosystem services. Some bats play important roles such as plant pollination and seed dispersal. Bats can pollinate more than 500 species of plants including avocados, bananas, dates and mangoes.
> In Southeast Asia, durian, a highly valued crop, can be effectively pollinated only by the Dawn Bat. In this sense, bats are important economically for people. Some bats can also play critical roles in spreading seeds and regrowing forests.
Yeah that'll probably turn out as well as when the Chinese tried to kill off the sparrows leading to huge insect swarms. (Also Bats are also pollinators that you would've noticed if you'd read the article).
Maybe exterminating fruit-eating bats wouldn't be as bad, but why not improve human hygiene practices instead?