The Bat Tennis video is now down on the Discovery web site as
well. It no longer comes up on the China page, although searching the
site for Bat Tennis still produces a hit,
<http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-bat-tennis.html>. That
page comes up, but there's no video.
Mark Minton
Quoting Louise Power <power_lou...@hotmail.com>:
I was about to point out the same thing. It's at
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-china/
The description of the clip (called "Bat Tennis") says: Hankering
for a meal of bat, Bear Grylles attempts an unusual ancient tribal
technique to catch his prey.
He doesn't shoot fire into the cave (little comfort, I'm sure for
the bats), he just holds a torch up to the entrance and then bats
them down with a crude (in every sense of the word) racquet made of
two sharpened poles intertwined with heavy vines. The man is an idiot.
Why are we just now finding out about this episode, it ran in mid-January.
Louise
Date: Fri, 28 May 2010 10:00:07 -0700
From: vivb...@att.net
To: texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] FW: Man vs. Wild: Man vs. Bats
I found it on the Discovery Site just a few minutes ago. Yes, it was
part of a China series.
I hate to give them traffic on their site. That's a win for them,
but I had to see what I was complaining about.
From: Karen <karen.mast...@gmail.com>
To: Geary Schindel <gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org>
Cc: Cavetex <texascavers@texascavers.com>
Sent: Fri, May 28, 2010 11:45:12 AM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] FW: Man vs. Wild: Man vs. Bats
The youtube video appears to have been removed.
I read elsewhere this was filmed in China. Not sure if that's
accurate, but here's an interesting journal abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=5487824
On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 11:17 AM, Geary Schindel
<gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org> wrote:
Some states have laws that protect non-game animals from being
killed. It would be interesting to investigate the state this was
filmed in and see if bats are protected and if so, whether he had
the necessary permits to kill them. Having him arrested for
destruction of wildlife would be interesting. Maybe he could do a
segment of Man verses Wild from a jail cell and then see who is the
predator and who is the prey.
G
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave H. Crusoe [mailto:dhcru...@projectkir.org]
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 11:05 AM
To: Charles Goldsmith; Cavetex
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] FW: Man vs. Wild: Man vs. Bats
Charles,
At your suggestion, I wrote the following to PETA's info line (
http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/onlinecruelty.asp
); not sure what they might do, but perhaps help mobilize the
twitterati? (As I'm sure others have done, I've also fwd'd to the
local grottos).
------------------------
Greetings,
I'm writing to represent a growing outcry (see e-mail from Bat
Conservation International below) over the televised killing of Bats
perpetrated by the star of Man vs. Wild, and available through YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYAoAdY6UMA).
Please let us know if there is a way you might spread additional word
over the outcry, beyond mobilizing our own communities (we cavers are
a relatively small community, nationally, which the number of people
interested in this issue is likely to be much larger); our hope is to
pressure the Discovery Channel to issue an apology and/or correction
and, more importantly, not promote or depict similar obscene cruelty
in the future.
On May 28, 2010, at 11:50 AM, Charles Goldsmith wrote:
Is there any type of legal aspect of this that could put pressure on
them? Cruelty to animals comes to mind. Also, anyone have a
contact at PETA, as bad as I hate that organization for it's antics,
they have a large voice.
Charles
On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 8:53 AM, <mark.al...@l-3com.com> wrote:
Just watched the video.
You can supply your own adjective, but, IMHO "appalling",
"irresponsible", "reprehensible" are good starts.
What is most disturbing is the unabashed glee this moron displays
while using these bats for badminton practice.
He doesn't even try to make it "acceptable" by eating what he kills.
I stopped watching this douche years ago and this confirms the fact
that I will never watch him again.
Mark
From: Geary Schindel [mailto:gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org]
Sent: Fri 5/28/2010 7:51 AM
To: texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: [Texascavers] FW: Man vs. Wild: Man vs. Bats
Graham Schindel sent me this.
Geary
Not sure if this has gone through Cave Tex but it should.
Cavers,
Here is a note sent out from BCI about a bat killing video. As if
WNS isn't enough...
---------------------
A recent episode of Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild featured Bear
Grylls gleefully killing bats with a homemade club. The clip, which
shows Grylls throwing a flame in a cave to "smoke out" the bats,
swatting them to the ground and then stomping on them, has aired
internationally and been posted on YouTube, allowing for continued
access.
Though we understand the show is about survival, we feel that this
clip perpetuates negative attitudes toward bats and could generate
senseless copycat activity and/or the type of vandalism that is
driving many bat species to the brink of extinction. Only four
months ago, a Kentucky man was sentenced to eight months in jail
after pleading guilty to beating to death 105 endangered Indiana bats.
Please express your disappointment at this anti-conservation message
by filling out the feedback form on Discovery Communications
website. Let the Discovery executives know:
* This episode undermines decades of bat conservation efforts
* Bats are an important part of a healthy ecosystem. They eat
agricultural pests, disperse seeds to replenish the rainforest and
pollinate a variety of plants. Many bats are endangered and the loss
of a single species can have ramifications throughout the ecosystem.
* Viewers should be informed that killing bats-or even disturbing
them-may be illegal depending on the species and country.
* We would like Discovery Channel to ensure this edition of Born
Survivor and related footage is not aired again and thatthis footage
is removed from Youtube, the Discovery Channel website and all other
communications
* We hope Discovery Channel uses all its nature programming to
forward conservation efforts.
Best regards,
Nina Fascione
Executive Director
Bat Conservation International
P.S. Help spread the word. Forward this to a friend.
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