Bats are ecologically vital mammals facing severe welfare threats from white-nose syndrome, wind turbine mortality, habitat loss, and persecution based on unfounded fears.
Bat welfare encompasses both individual suffering and population-level threats that, given bats' low reproductive rates, can cause irreversible decline. White-nose syndrome causes one of the most devastating welfare events in modern wildlife: infected bats rouse repeatedly from hibernation during winter, burning through fat reserves, becoming increasingly starved and weakened before dying. The mortality events in affected caves are catastrophic — some colonies have lost over 90% of individuals. Survivors experience physical deterioration from repeated arousal-depletion cycles. Wind turbine mortality causes barotrauma — internal hemorrhage from sudden pressure changes near spinning blades — and direct strikes. Bats are also routinely killed out of unfounded fear and pest phobia. Bat-friendly turbine operating protocols (curtailing at low wind speeds during peak bat activity) and disease probiotic research offer hope.