White-nose syndrome has devastated North American bat populations, causing billions of deaths and representing one of the largest mass mortality events in wildlife history, with severe individual and population welfare consequences.
Individual bat welfare during white-nose syndrome infection involves the acute suffering of disturbed hibernation — bats arousing repeatedly from torpor, burning fat reserves needed for winter survival, and ultimately dying of starvation or exposure. The pathogen-driven disruption of a fundamental biological process creates suffering that is distinct from ordinary winter mortality. The scale of bat deaths has ecosystem-wide consequences through reduced insect pest control, but the individual welfare dimension — billions of animals experiencing fatal metabolic crisis — deserves recognition in conservation planning.