Common and soprano pipistrelles are the UK's most abundant bats, but intensive agricultural landscapes with reduced insect diversity threaten their foraging welfare through reduced prey availability.
Pipistrelle welfare depends on access to insect-rich foraging habitat connected by linear landscape features. The collapse of flying insect populations in intensively farmed landscapes reduces food availability, requiring bats to travel further and work harder to meet their nightly calorie requirements. Reduction of hedgerows, drainage of riparian habitats, and pesticide use all reduce foraging quality. Road casualties during low foraging flights are a significant welfare concern on busy rural roads. Landscape features that maintain insect diversity and provide foraging connectivity directly protect pipistrelle welfare.