16th December 2015

The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) has launched its first crowdfunding campaign which aims to publish the new edition of the Bat Care Guidelines, a vital resource amongst bat carers. This is a great opportunity for our supporters to contribute to this publication. The crowdfunding page can be accessed HERE.

In the UK we are very fortunate to have a network of dedicated volunteers who can collect and care for orphaned, injured and grounded bats; this fantastic Bat Care Network is made up of over 300 volunteer bat rehabilitators. These individuals give up their time and resources to take care of and rehabilitate bats. They have a huge amount of experience and skills learnt over many years of caring for bats. However, in some cases we have to refer people to their local veterinary surgeries, which may not have had much experience in bat rehabilitation. Bat care is a very specialist subject and one that many veterinary professionals have limited experience of dealing with - wildlife is a relatively small element of veterinary training and covers lots of species.

In 2007 BCT published the 1st edition of the Bat Care Guidelines which proved to be incredibly successful. It provides an essential go-to tool for those caring for bats and was freely shared with all volunteer rehabilitators listed with the Bat Care Network and to all UK veterinary practices. A lot of the advice in the previous edition now requires updating - this is vital if we are to ensure that up-to-date advice and knowledge is available to anyone undertaking bat rehabilitation.

With the help of crowdfunding, BCT hopes to engage and encourage as many people as possible to donate. You can donate as little as £5 and as much as £500! You can also donate as a present to someone else (if you wish to do this please email comms@bats.org.uk with the name, email address and home address for the person you are offering the gift to). In order to show you our appreciation for your donation we will offer our bat care supporters the following rewards:

If you donate £5 you will:- get your name in our website "Thank you" list (which you can see HERE)- Receive an email with a certificate of donation.

If you donate £10:- your name will appear in our website "Thank you" list (which you can see HERE)- you will receive an email with a certificate of donation- you will receive 2 postcards

If you donate £25:- your name will appear in our website "Thank you" list (which you can see HERE)- you will receive an email with a certificate of donation- you will receive a set of 4 postcards- 1 pin badge of your choice between common pipistrelle, lesser horseshoe, barbastelle or noctule

If you donate £50:- your name will appear in our website "Thank you" list (which you can see HERE)- you will receive an email with a certificate of donation- you will receive a set of 4 postcards- all 4 pin badges- Latest Bat News magazine

If you donate with £100 you will get:- your name in our website "Thank you" list (which you can see HERE)- an email with a certificate of donation- a set of 4 postcards- all 4 pin badges- latest Bat News magazine- an early bird copy of "Bat Care Guidelines" (you can either receive this yourself or nominate someone else to receive it. If it is the latter please email comms@bats.org.uk )

If you donate £500 you will get:- your name in our website "Thank you" list (which you can see HERE)- an email with a certificate of donation- a set of 4 postcards- all 4 pin badges- latest Bat News magazine- an early bird copy of "Bat Care Guidelines" (you can either receive this yourself or nominate someone else to receive it. If it is the latter please email comms@bats.org.uk )- a second copy of "Bat Care Guidelines"- your name printed in the book as a named supporter

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) is the only national organisation solely devoted to the conservation of bats and their habitats in the UK. Its network of 100 local bat groups and more than 1,000 bat workers survey roosts and hibernation sites, and work with householders, builders, farmers and foresters to protect bats. www.bats.org.uk

All British bats are protected under British law, because of severe declines in bat numbers during the twentieth century. Loss of roosting habitat to development and construction, loss of foraging habitat as farming practice has changed (using pesticide and losing meadows and hedgerows) and loss of hedgerows, waterways and commuting routes linking the two all contributed to the declines in bat populations.

Because of widespread population declines and continued vulnerability, all British bat species are European protected species and afforded a high level of protection under both the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Deliberately capturing, disturbing, injuring and killing bats is prohibited, as is damaging or destroying their breeding sites and roosts.

The Bat Helpline 0345 1300 228 is for anyone who needs help with bats If you find a grounded or injured bat, believes bats to be at risk or think you may have bats or want to let us know about a bat roost site please call the Bat Helpline 0345 1300 228

Media queries + photo requests to Joe Nunez on 020 7820 7168, jnunez-mino@bats.org.uk

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