Urban bat populations are increasingly important as countryside habitats decline, but roost disturbance, building renovation, and light pollution create significant welfare challenges for urban bats.
Urban bats face welfare challenges across their annual cycle. Maternity roosts disturbed during the summer pup-rearing period cause pup abandonment, separation distress, and death. Building renovations that block roost access trap bats inside or exclude them from roosts they have used for decades. Bright exterior lighting delays emergence, shortening foraging time and stressing nursing females. Injured or grounded bats require specialist care from licensed bat carers and should not be handled without appropriate rabies vaccination.