White-nose syndrome has killed over six million bats in North America since 2006, and the welfare of surviving and affected bats requires urgent conservation and research attention.
The welfare dimension of white-nose syndrome is significant and under-recognized. Affected bats experience repeated, unnatural arousal from hibernation during winter months, burning critical fat reserves and facing starvation and cold stress. The final stages of the disease involve emaciation, dehydration, and physical deterioration from repeated arousal episodes. While individual bat welfare is difficult to address at scale given the species involved, research into probiotic treatments, habitat management, and potentially antifungal interventions may reduce population-level welfare harm. Protecting hibernacula from human disturbance during winter reduces stress on already-vulnerable bat populations. The urgent priority is preventing further geographic spread while supporting recovery of decimated populations.