2023 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 42
JUSTICE FOR THE MALL OF ABILENE BATS
In August, we received word from Big Country Wildlife Rehabilita}on Center that
bats were roos}ng at the Mall of Abilene and were in danger of possibly being
killed by the Opera}ons Manager, Jason Moore. Note that these bats had been
roos}ng at the Mall of Abilene for years without any issues. We called Mr.
Moore right away to o昀昀er advice on how to humanely exclude the bats, and we
also spoke with the Orkin o昀케ce in Abilene about humane bat exclusions. The
manager at Orkin was wonderful and wanted to do what was best for the bats.
Mr. Moore also agreed to do a humane exclusion the following week. The following day, however, Mr. Moore instead decided to seal the roost with silicone.
Some of the colony had lev their roost before it was sealed, but dozens ended
up trapped inside. Unable to leave their roost, they sought an escape route and
ended up inside the mall (exactly what we explained to Mr. Moore would happen if the bats were sealed in rather than humanely excluded).
TRAPPED BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
Sam Townsend
When we found out
the bats were sealed
in, we called Mr.
Moore and o昀昀ered to
do an exclusion for
him so the remaining
bats trapped in the
roost could escape.
We received a photo
of bats huddled at
the entrance of their
newly-sealed roost,
trying to get back inside. They could hear
the cries of their
trapped roost mates
Juvenile free-tail bats huddled outside their roost, which was
inside the sealed
sealed with silicone, locking bats both inside and outside the
roost as the hot sun
roost.
seared down on them
and the temperature rose to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. We were told that one of
the bats was stuck in silicone. When we asked Mr. Moore what happened to
that bat, he replied
