A recent study has uncovered a surprising black market for stuffed and mounted bats, a trade that has largely flown under the radar compared to more high-profile wildlife trafficking. While big animals like elephants and tigers often dominate discussions about illegal wildlife trade, bats are increasingly being sold on e-commerce platforms such as Etsy, eBay, and Amazon.
The study, published this month in *The European Journal of Wildlife Research*, highlights a troubling trend. Researchers found numerous bats being sold intact or as skeletons, with some framed in shadow boxes or mounted in decorative coffins. Bats were even marketed as Halloween or Christmas gifts.
Dr. Nistara Randhawa, an epidemiologist and data scientist at the University of California, Davis, and a co-author of the study, warned that unsuspecting buyers might think they are purchasing ethically sourced items. Instead, they could be contributing to the decline of bat populations. “If people aren’t discerning, they might think they’re buying products that are sustainably sourced, but they’re not,” said Randhawa (The New York Times).
The study focused on the Kerivoula picta, also known as the painted woolly bat or fire bat, which is easily recognizable by its bright orange fur and striped wings. This species was declared “near threatened” in 2020, with a population decline of up to 25 percent over the past 15 years attributed partly to the demand for bat specimens.
From October to December 2022, researchers searched e-commerce sites for bat listings and discovered a total of 856 bats for sale. A quarter of these were K. picta. Etsy had the most listings, accounting for half of the total, while eBay followed with 45 percent, and Amazon had 5 percent.
Many sellers claimed that their bats were sustainably sourced or bred in captivity. One Etsy seller even promoted their products as a way to support conservation efforts and combat deforestation. However, the reality of these claims remains questionable.
