White-nose syndrome has devastated North American bat populations, causing enormous individual suffering alongside catastrophic population declines.
White-nose syndrome is one of the most significant wildlife welfare catastrophes in recent North American history — both in terms of scale and the nature of individual suffering. The death process from WNS is protracted and involves repeated arousal from torpor, exhaustion, starvation, and immune failure. Individual welfare in this context is inseparable from conservation: as populations collapse, ecosystem services fail, and remaining individuals face compounded pressures. Treatment research — probiotic applications, UV treatment, vaccination — represents both conservation and welfare intervention. Public engagement with bat protection creates the policy and funding environment for sustained research.