Plus-Hex CLINICAL
Handling bats
Often, bats brought into a veterinary practice are not examined before being handed over to a specialist bat carer, and they are later found to have injuries that require them to be euthanised on welfare grounds. Therefore, a bat should be put under the care of a veterinary surgeon( VS) when admitted, to ensure its welfare needs are met. VSs have a duty to provide emergency first aid, pain relief and euthanasia to injured wildlife under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 [ 7 ].
A number of health and safety measures should be established before handling a bat, to protect both the handler and the bat. When handling bats, individuals must wear personal protective equipment( PPE), with emphasis on gloves and a face mask. Gloves should be of a thickness appropriate to the bat ' s size: thick enough to protect the handler but not so thick that they hinder grip [ 8 ].
Figure 4. Place a thumb under the chin to reduce the risk of being bitten by the bat.
Ideally, anyone handling bats should be vaccinated against rabies, but not being vaccinated should not preclude a veterinary professional from handling a bat for treatment, provided that suitable gloves are worn.
Advice on handling bats
• Always wear gloves
• Never handle a bat by its wings
• To restrain the bat, place the thumb under the bat ' s jaw and gently grasp its body in the palm of the hand or with the fingers( Figure 4)
• Cover the bat ' s head during the examination to help keep it calm
• When opening the wings, gently move the bat ' s wrist away from its body and carefully open the wing like a fan( Figure 5)
• Keep handling to a minimum
• Avoid any actions that may stress the bat, except where necessary to assess and / or treat it
• Anyone bitten or scratched must seek medical advice from the BCT
• A record should be kept of every individual who handles the bat
Figure 5. Use the non-dominant hand to handle the bat and the dominant hand to examine the wings.
First aid
The principles of first aid are no different for wildlife casualties than for other species and should include appropriate fluid therapy, wound care, analgesia and nursing care.
Bats are most commonly presented with traumatic injuries such as wing tears, cat-bite injuries and wing bone fractures. On first inspection, it must be considered whether euthanasia is the best option for the bat. If this is not the case then, with the VS ' s direction, warmth, oral fluids and pain relief may need to be given to the bat before clinical examination.
Volume 41( 1) • February 2026
13