Legislation and bats

There are currently 16 species of bat known to breed in the UK. All 16 species and their roost sites are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended and are included in Schedule 2 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, & c.) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (the Habitats Regulations). As a signatory to the Bonn Convention (Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe) the UK is also obliged to protect their habitats, requiring the identification and protection from damage or disturbance of important feeding areas. Some species are also listed under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).

This makes it an offence for any person to:

• Intentionally (intentionally or recklessly in Scotland) capture, kill or injure a bat.
• Possess or control a live or dead bat, any part of a bat or anything derived from a bat.
•  Damage, destroy or obstruct access to any place that a bat uses for shelter or protection. This is taken to mean all bat roosts whether bats are present or not.
•  Disturb a bat while it is occupying a structure or place that it uses for shelter or protection.
•  Sell, offer or expose for sale, or possess or transport for the purpose of sale, any live or dead bat, any part of a bat, or anything derived from a bat.
• Set and use articles capable of catching, injuring or killing a bat (for example a trap or poison).

Under UK law a bat roost is “any structure or place which any wild [bat]...uses for shelter or protection”. As bats tend to reuse the same roosts, legal opinion is that the roost is protected whether or not the bats are present at the time. It has been suggested that bats have to abandon a roost for 7 years before it is considered to be defunct.

A licence is required if a bat roost is to be damaged or destroyed for the purposes of development and, sometimes, for forestry, farming and conservation operations.

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