Bats are the second most diverse mammal order, playing crucial ecological roles. Their welfare is threatened by wind turbines, white-nose syndrome, habitat loss, and persecution.
Wild bat welfare is compromised by several distinct threats. White-nose syndrome disrupts hibernation, causing bats to wake and deplete fat reserves during winter, leading to starvation with prolonged suffering before death — it has caused catastrophic population declines. Wind turbine mortality involves both direct blade strikes and barotrauma (internal bleeding from pressure changes) that may not be immediately fatal. Pesticide exposure impairs echolocation and insect availability. Roost destruction during development evicts maternal colonies, separating pups from mothers with high mortality. Persecution — bats killed from fear of disease — is a significant welfare and conservation concern in many regions. Climate change alters insect emergence timing, disrupting the food supply bats depend on during critical reproductive periods.