LIKE most properly trained and licensed bat ecologists, I spend much of my time helping people to solve complicated bat problems.

I have not had a single case where we have failed to find a sensible solution.

Legislation offers a reasonable system for moving bats, which involves getting a European Protected Species licence. One of the tests for the licence is that there is no satisfactory alternative.

The problem at St Hilda’s Church, Ellerburn, near Pickering, is that the church is unwilling to compromise and find an alternative to total removal of all bats (Echo, Oct 17).

They could apply for the option of installing a ceiling so that bat droppings do not fall onto the church surfaces.

However, they prefer to spend all their energy in turning this into a battleground.

This “wildlife versus people” argument is ruining many years of careful negotiation and compromise by developers and ecologists.

Giles Manners, Thirsk.