Consumption Of Bats Poses Public Health Risks – Group

An environment rights group, Wild Africa’s West Africa, has warned against the consumption of bats, saying it poses ecological and public health risks.

Speaking against the backdrop of the celebration of the International Bat Appreciation Day 2025, the spokesman of Wild Africa’s West Africa, Dr Mark Ofua, said fruit bats, which are commonly consumed across Nigeria, are known carriers of zoonotic diseases that could be transmitted to humans when consumed.

Dr Ofua further raised the alarm that bats are on the verge of going into extinction in Nigeria, said Nigeria is home to approximately 100 bat species, representing one-third of all bats in Africa.

The organisation, however, called on the Nigerian government, the private sector and conservation organisations to urgently step up efforts to protect Nigeria’s threatened bat species.

“The IUCN Red List (2025) identifies several Nigerian bats, including the critically endangered short-tailed roundleaf bat, as being at high risk of disappearing. Bats in Nigeria face multiple threats, including deforestation, mining, logging, agricultural expansion, light pollution and the bushmeat trade.

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“Fruit bats, especially the straw-coloured fruit bat – Africa’s most hunted bat – are commonly consumed across Nigeria. This poses ecological and public health risks as bats are known carriers of zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted to humans when consumed.

“Today, we celebrate the silent guardians of the night, nature’s tiny heroes who keep the ecosystems in balance. We must learn how to coexist with them and give them room to thrive once more so that we can thrive as well. I look forward to the passage of the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill currently before the House of Assembly, which is set to strengthen protections for our wildlife, including bats, and the forests and ecosystems vital to their survival,” Ofua said.