Bats are vital ecosystem services providers facing threats from roost destruction, disease, wind turbines, and persecution. Conservation actions with direct welfare benefits are urgently needed.
Bat welfare encompasses both wild population threats and individual animal suffering. White-nose syndrome causes a catastrophic welfare emergency: affected bats are aroused repeatedly during hibernation, burning fat reserves and dying of starvation and exposure. The disease has caused regional extinctions of some bat species in North America. Wind turbine barotrauma — internal haemorrhage from pressure changes near spinning blades — kills bats without visible external injury, making mortality assessment challenging. Roost protection is critical: maternity colonies and hibernacula are vulnerable to disturbance that causes colony abandonment or winter mortality. Persecution based on disease fears or agricultural conflicts causes direct individual suffering. Wildlife rehabilitators provide care for injured bats but face challenges with rabies risk management in some regions.