New Delhi: In a bid to protect bats which are being blamed for the spread of novel coronavirus causing COVID 19, South Asian scientists and conservationists have made an appeal to the governments of the South Asian countries to strengthen the legal framework for protecting bats.

“We urge the government of South Asian countries to strengthen the legal framework to protect bats in view of their ecosystem services and their slow breeding capacity,” the statement released on April 24 says.

The scientists also referred to a recent report of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) regarding the discovery of Bat coronavirus (BtCoV) in two species of South Asian bats.

“The recent report on bats poses no known health hazards. The viruses found in the study are different from SARS-CoV-2 and cannot cause COVID -19,” says the statement.

The scientists blame global wildlife trade and large scale industrial farming for “playing an important role in the past and present zoonotic outbreaks.”

The group of scientists also made an appeal to the media houses to spread awareness about bats and also consider possible negative impacts of their write-ups and statements.

Emphasizing that bats are vital for the ecosystem, the statement says knowing “epidemiological facts” are needed for a “healthy co-existence”.

“Killing bats and other wild animals and evicting them from their roost in retaliation is counterproductive,” it further says.

Specifying that the exact origin of SARS-CoV-2 or its precursor is not known, it says: “It is premature and unfair to blame bats or any other animal for the pandemic.”

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