Primarily, bats are hunted as food in Southeast Asia. However, there has also been growing concern of preserved microbats being used as souvenirs as well as the hunting of bats for alleged medicinal purposes. Hunting usually occurs in countries with high levels of bat abundance, low levels of food security and a lack of legal regulation. Unfortunately, this is characteristic of many Southeast Asian nations

Of all the bats found in Southeast Asia, the Old World fruit bats are one of the most significantly threatened species with the highest number of critically endangered animals. The bushmeat trade favours flying foxes because of their large body size and tendency to gather in large colonies, making them easier to capture. Moreover, their low reproductive rates and long reproductive cycles leaves them unable to withstand the intensity of the bushmeat treat. In North Sulawesi, Indonesia, where demand for flying foxes are the greatest, they are already locally extinct. To make matters worse, there is no legal enforcement, especially at local levels. Instead, the Indonesian law allows for the hunting and trading of unprotected animals, including bats, with a legal permit.

Another plausible reason for the excessive hunting of bats is bat trade as souvenirs. In recent years, bat researchers encountered mounted specimens of bats being sold as souvenirs during a visit to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City. Alarmingly, the trade of bat specimens extend online. A simple search of ‘bat taxidermy’ on e-commerce site eBay revealed mounted and osteological specimens of several Southeast-Asian bat species. While these mounted specimens do not involve threatened species of bats, it is a concerning factor that contributes to the increased hunting of bats in Southeast Asia. After all, the population of the range-restricted Kitti’s hog-nosed bat (also the world’s smallest bat species and mammal) was threatened shortly after its description in 1974. This only goes to show that the appeal of bat taxidermy as souvenirs have potentially drastic consequences on these mammals.