White-nose syndrome caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans threatens to devastate North American bat populations and may spread to UK bat species with unknown consequences.
White-nose syndrome creates one of the most acute wildlife welfare emergencies documented in recent decades. Infected bats wake repeatedly from hibernation to groom irritating fungal growth, burning irreplaceable fat reserves until they die of starvation before winter ends. The welfare experience of dying white-nose syndrome bats involves repeated arousal from torpor, hunger, and progressive weakness - a prolonged suffering that results in mass mortality events. The apparent resistance of European bats, whose evolutionary history includes exposure to the fungus, suggests that UK bats would potentially face similar catastrophic mortality if naive populations were exposed to highly virulent strains. Proactive biosecurity and research investment is warranted given the welfare scale of potential impacts.