Conservationists urge Mauritius to halt cull of threatened fruit bat

A government cull of tens of thousands of bats has no scientific basis and is putting the survival of the species at risk, coalition says

Conservationists are calling for an end to a government cull of tens of thousands of fruit bats in Mauritius that they say is putting the survival of the threatened species at risk.

Authorities began shooting 18,000 Mauritius fruit bats (Pteropus niger) on 7 November, despite protests and even though the species is protected on the Indian Ocean island and listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, the world's conservation union.