Bat Welfare: Roost Protection and White-Nose Syndrome

Bats provide essential pest control and pollination services and face welfare threats from roost disturbance, wind turbine strikes, habitat loss, and the catastrophic white-nose syndrome devastating North American populations.

Key Facts

All 18 UK bat species are legally protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
White-nose syndrome, caused by a fungus imported from Europe, has killed over 6 million bats in North America since 2006
Bats in the UK roost in buildings, trees, and underground sites, making them highly vulnerable to renovation and development work
A single pipistrelle bat can eat up to 3,000 insects per night, providing substantial natural pest control
Wind turbines kill an estimated 600,000-900,000 bats annually in North America through barotrauma from pressure changes

Welfare Considerations

Bat welfare is affected by roost disturbance, which causes abandonment of young during sensitive periods, and by white-nose syndrome, which causes rapid mortality during hibernation. Infected bats display unusual winter activity, waking from hibernation and dying from energy depletion. Wind turbine barotrauma causes haemorrhaging in bats that fly through the low-pressure zone near spinning blades. Roost disturbance during building renovation separates mothers from dependent young, causing starvation of pups. Lighting of roost sites interferes with emergence timing, exposing bats to predation and disrupting the night-time feeding windows on which they depend.

What You Can Do

Always consult a bat conservation officer before carrying out building work near known or suspected bat roosts
Support Bat Conservation Trust surveys and monitoring that track bat population welfare across the UK
Advocate for wind turbine feathering during peak bat activity periods at night to reduce barotrauma mortality
Donate to white-nose syndrome research and probiotic treatment trials through North American Bat Conservation Alliance