Bats face severe welfare threats from white-nose syndrome, wind turbine strikes, habitat loss, and persecution, threatening the ecological services they provide.
Bats infected with white-nose syndrome experience a harrowing death: the fungus invades their skin during hibernation, causing repeated arousal from torpor that depletes fat reserves, leading to starvation. Turbine strikes cause traumatic injury including barotrauma from pressure changes near spinning blades. Colonies disturbed during roost are often abandoned, leaving dependent young to die. The slow reproductive rate of bats means population losses from these causes persist for generations. Protecting bat welfare means protecting roost sites, regulating turbine operation during migration, and combating the fungal disease.