Bats are among the most ecologically important and least understood mammals. Facing threats from habitat loss and white-nose syndrome, their welfare and conservation needs are urgent.
Bat welfare challenges are primarily conservation-related — the scale of mortality from white-nose syndrome, wind turbine strikes, and habitat loss represents welfare harm at population level. Individual bats affected by white-nose syndrome experience the welfare impacts of fungal infection during hibernation — arousal from torpor in winter conditions that depletes fat reserves and causes starvation. Wind turbine strikes cause acute trauma. Roost disturbance during hibernation causes premature fat depletion. Despite their ecological importance, bats suffer from significant public fear and misunderstanding that reduces advocacy effort and political will for protection. The connection between bat decline and ecosystem-wide welfare impacts on insect-regulated plant communities extends their welfare significance beyond the individual.