Queens College Biologist Develops New Study of Global Trade in Wild Bats That Finds Extensive Illegal Hunting in Vietnam
—Joanna Coleman led a previous international research team on commercial exploitation of bats—
Flushing, NY, April 3—An international research team—including senior author Joanna Coleman, assistant professor of biology at Queens College—has conducted an important new study on the bat trade. They provide key evidence that the trade in Asia’s painted wooly bats (Kerivoula picta or K. picta) sells wild bats, not captive-bred individuals. The bats have striking black and orange markings that make them desirable for sale as framed or mounted specimens; they are used as home décor and personal ornaments. Coleman’s past research, which found that the global trade in K. picta was facilitated by online marketplaces like Etsy and e-Bay, resulted in more stringent monitoring of online vendors. The new study, conducted in Vietnam, gives a more complete picture of how the trade operates on the ground. An ecologist, Coleman is co-chair of the Bat Trade and Human Dimensions Working Groups, which fall under the Bat Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC).
“Through her innovative research, Professor Coleman continues to expose a trade in Asian bats that threatens their continued existence,” says Queens College President Frank H. Wu. “Her work highlights not only the ecological costs of species loss, but also the need for people and nations to act more urgently to protect wildlife.”
The new research, “The ornamental trade in painted woolly bats (Kerivoula picta) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,” to be published in the April issue of Global Ecology and Conservation, investigates Vietnam’s trade in K. picta through a resourceful mix of methods. Researchers surveyed shops in Ho Chi Minh City, recording all bats available for sale as ornamentals; interviewed vendors to better understand the supply chain; and did a comprehensive legislative review to try to ascertain whether the trade is even legal.
The team’s research established that K. picta is captured in the wild, taxidermied, and sold through both local markets and a global supply chain. It is the bat most widely sold for ornamental purposes, largely to tourists; sale is common in Ho Chi Minh City’s Ben Thanh Market. K. picta also is being indiscriminately collected in the wild. The research team saw young and adult bats as well as pups (babies) in the market, which suggests an unsustainable overharvesting that will affect future numbers of K. picta. Anecdotal evidence further suggested that painted wooly bats are becoming harder to find in the wild around Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. According to Coleman, “There is absolutely no captive breeding of bats for commercial use.” The size of the global population (number of individual bats) had been determined already to have shrunk by 25 percent, and researchers believe the species may be on the verge of local extinction.
The picture that emerges from their research suggests the need for greater protection of K. picta. According to Coleman, “Our research shows that painted woolly bats are the most popular species in Ho Chi Minh City’s ornamental bat trade. These specimens appear to be hunted in the wild in Vietnam, where they are already very hard to find in their natural habitats surrounding the city. Because these bats are mainly marketed to foreign tourists, we see an urgent need to strengthen laws that protect wildlife from trade not just in Vietnam, but also internationally, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the United States Endangered Species Act.” Listing under the Convention (CITES) would limit cross-border trade in painted woolly bats.
The study was designed by Coleman and Chris Shepard, senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. Other authors include Minh D.T. Nguyen, Hai Thanh Luong, Joe Chun-Chia Huang, Ha Thi Bui, and Vu Dinh Thong. Funding was provided by the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Environment Agency—Abu Dhabi.
Besides seeking CITES protection, the research team advocates for measures that would close regulatory gaps. Protection of K. picta in Vietnam under its list of precious and rare species would effectively ban commercial hunting and trade. Researchers also hope to see more monitoring and enforcement in markets as well as education of consumers. In addition, they recommend stricter regulation of imports in the United States, including under the Endangered Species Act. Finally, they urge more comprehensive population surveys of K. picta, possibly as a prelude to reassessing its viability or threatened status.
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