Cave-roosting bat species congregate in enormous numbers and are vulnerable to single-site disturbance events. Cave protection is among the most impactful bat welfare interventions.
Cave roost protection directly prevents welfare harm to enormous numbers of bats simultaneously. Disturbing hibernating bats causes them to arouse, burning fat reserves they cannot replenish until spring emergence. Repeated disturbance causes progressive fat depletion and death from starvation. White-nose syndrome fungus also spreads through cave systems, affecting hibernating bats. Cave gates that prevent human disturbance while allowing bat passage have proven highly effective at protecting roosts. The concentration of millions of bats in single locations makes cave protection an unusually high-impact welfare intervention.