Also depending on your area, there's a chance the bat may scratch you without you realizing it, and a few months or years later, you suddenly go mad and die in agony.

At least I'm more scared of rabies than any government fine. By the time you know something is wrong, you're already a corpse that's about to remember to stop moving.

Rabies can lay that dormant? And there’s no test?

Apparently, yes, and while there are tests, it's probably too late once symptoms have appeared:

> Rabies virus travels through the nerves to the spinal cord and brain. This process can last approximately 3 to 12 weeks. The animal has no signs of illness during this time.[^1]

> Several tests are necessary to diagnose rabies ante-mortem (before death) in humans; no single test is sufficient. Tests are performed on samples of saliva, serum, spinal fluid, and skin biopsies of hair follicles at the nape of the neck.[^2]

> Once clinical signs of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal, and treatment is typically supportive. Less than 20 cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been documented.[^3]

[^1]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/transmission/body.html

[^2]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/diagnosis/animals-humans.html

[^3]: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/symptoms/index.html

I've read somewhere about the case that took over a year, but can't find the link. Following citations on[0], this paper[1] says:

"The incubation period is typically 1–3 months, but can vary from a few days to more than 1 year [1,4]. Cases of up to 6 years incubation period have been discussed[5]."

And this is specifically in humans, not in animals in general.

There is no test that I know of, but vaccine is very effective even after you got it (but before actual symptoms show up), so if you suspect you're infected, you go and get the shots. Thing is, AFAIK those are quite painful, so it's not something you want to take as prophylaptic unless you're at high risk (e.g. working as a vet).

All this adds up to what I wrote earlier: you get random bat or squirrel bite, tiny enough that you forget about it in moments, and a few months later, you suddenly die.

--

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies

[1] - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1586/14760584.2015.1...

I got bit by a bat recently and the four rounds of shots weren’t painful. Uncomfortable, maybe so.

Who in the world would know anything about it if you're out at night catching bats with a sock?

If you know that it’s a protected species you might want not to do that, even if there’s no one to see you.

I'll assume that somebody out catching bats at night have their reasons.