WHEREAS, bats are important to biology, and the human economy; and
WHEREAS, much remains to be learned about bats; and
WHEREAS, North American scientists, in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are expending considerable time, energy and money in banding large numbers of bats in order to increase knowledge, and these banded bats represent long-term research projects in natural laboratories; and
WHEREAS, persons or agencies not associated with any bat-banding program are known to have removed banded bats from roosts and to have destroyed large numbers of them indiscriminately; and
WHEREAS, some species of bats could be endangered by removal of large numbers from roosts or by damaging such roosts; now
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that removal of bats from caves be discouraged, except for scientific research, and that molestation of bats in roosts or other unnecessary disturbance be discouraged; and
BE IT FURTER RESOLVETD, that the American Society of Mammalogists endorses bat banding programs in the Americas and urges that banded bats should not be destroyed or used in such a way as to reduce their value in research; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that banded bats should be released alive after pertinent data have been recorded, and that any recovery data should be promptly reported; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that, as the occasion arises, members of the Society make copies of this resolution available to individuals and institutions engaged in research on bats, and to other agencies concerned with wildlife conservation.