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Video: Bats and buildings

In a recent Bat Conservation Trust survey, 75% of respondents to the survey welcomed bats, with only 12% expressing concerns about their presence. In Britain, bats and their roosts are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which granted bats and their roosts special legal protection. The law effectively states that intentional or reckless damage or destruction of a roost and the disturbance of a bat are arrestable offences. The potential fine for each offence is £5,000, and if more than one bat is involved, £5,000 per bat. An offender can also be imprisoned for 6 months. Capturing a bat or otherwise causing it distress is also a criminal offence.

In the last hundred years all native species have suffered big declines, in some cases of almost 90%. Bats are protected from deliberate killing, injuring, or taking from the wild, or disturbance. But it's not only the bats themselves that are protected: their roosts are also protected. Also, it's not necessary to show intent: damaging, destroying, or blocking access to a roost is also an offence, even when the bats aren't there.

This programme explores how these can issues be avoided, and, where leaving bats alone may not be an option, how to make sure that individuals take all reasonable precautions.