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1991 - 2006. EUROBATS celebrates its 15th anniversary

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72<br />

<strong>EUROBATS</strong> Publication Series No 1 Countries<br />

Three projects to protect summer roosts<br />

were named several times in the questi-<br />

onnaires. The first was the successful pro-<br />

tection of breeding colonies of bats in Lo-<br />

wer Silesia, carried out in the 90s by the<br />

Polish Society of Wildlife Fiends “pro Natu-<br />

ra”. Several important breeding colonies in<br />

lofts (mostly of Rhinolophus hipposideros)<br />

were protected. Many of the projects that<br />

followed took advantage of methods deve-<br />

loped during the aforementioned example.<br />

The next project “Protection of barn<br />

owls and bats in sacral buildings” was the<br />

first big conservation project organised by a<br />

consortium of several NGOs united in PON.<br />

It was coordinated by the Mazovian Society<br />

of Fauna Protection (now named: Wildlife<br />

Society “Stork”). The last project dealt with<br />

the protection of a Myotos myotis colony<br />

(ca. 400 individuals) in the old school in Ko-<br />

panki. In this case it was not the scale that<br />

was important, but the method of protec-<br />

tion. In the loft a special “bat observatory”<br />

was built by “Salamandra”. Now it is an education<br />

centre visited by several thousand<br />

people every year, who not only learn about<br />

bats from lectures and an exhibition, but<br />

can observe live bats in a way that is safe<br />

for the animals. Bats have now become the<br />

main tourist attraction in this village, benefiting<br />

from the special attention and care of<br />

local citizens.<br />

The last “milestone” project, which was<br />

named in some questionnaires, was the establishing<br />

of a bat hospital in Poznan in the<br />

90’s by “Salamandra”. It did not result in any<br />

direct protection, although several hundred<br />

bats were treated there. However, the idea<br />

that bats are such precious animals, with a<br />

specialised ‘hospital’ dedicated to their protection,<br />

had a big influence on the general<br />

Bat hospital in Poznan © Andrzej Kepel<br />

public’s attitude. Later similar hospitals in<br />

other cities were established. Unfortunately<br />

because of a lack of resources and changes<br />

in the legislation, most of them were closed<br />

in 2004 and 200 and now only one bat hospital<br />

in Warsaw remains.<br />

Transboundary co-operation<br />

The project “Bats of Sudety” is often considered<br />

the most important international<br />

project. Chiropterologists of three neighboring<br />

countries (Czech Republic, Germany<br />

and Poland) cooperate and exchange experiences<br />

to monitor and protect bats in the<br />

Sudety Mountains.<br />

The project to protect bats’ hibernacula<br />

in Western Poland, coordinated by the<br />

“pro Natura” Society together with several<br />

German partners, (e.g. German Army) was<br />

mentioned several times as well.<br />

Legislation cornerstones<br />

There is only one legislation cornerstone in<br />

this 1 -year period concerning bats. It was

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