Bat roost surveys before building renovations and demolitions are essential for preventing the destruction of maternity colonies that house nursing pups during the critical summer period.
Bats disturbed or killed during building works die or abandon pups who cannot yet fly, leaving them to starve. The destruction of a maternity colony can eliminate hundreds of nursing young in a single event. Legal protection exists but enforcement depends on surveys being conducted before works begin. Requiring bat surveys as a planning condition, enforcing legal protections, and providing high-quality roost replacement boxes ensure that development and bat welfare coexist. Community awareness that bats are legally protected and ecologically valuable is the first line of protection for roosts.