Bats provide enormous ecological services and represent a quarter of all mammal species. Their welfare faces threats from white-nose syndrome, wind turbines, habitat loss, and human persecution based on misconceptions.
Bat welfare is threatened by a combination of novel disease, infrastructure development, and deliberate persecution. White-nose syndrome causes intense suffering — infected bats arouse repeatedly from hibernation, exhausting fat reserves, and many die slowly from hypothermia and starvation. Wind turbine mortality affects millions of individuals annually and is concentrated during migration when bats are already physiologically stressed. Bat evictions from roosts during maternity season can trap pups, causing their deaths. Replacing persecution with coexistence — installing bat boxes, using ultrasonic turbine deterrents during high-risk periods, and protecting hibernation sites — addresses these welfare harms.