Mammal Survey
What Do You Know About Bats And How They’re Protected in the UK?
If there are a lot of bats, it means there are lots of plants and other animals doing well in the area. The types of insects that British bats eat are mostly midges, flies, gnats and moths.
With around 1100 different species of bat worldwide, only 17 species are recorded to be breeding in Britain. There are no native fruit bats or vampire bats in this country. The most common species in Britain is the Pipistrelle. Bat’s have amazingly long life-spans for their size, even the small Pipistrelle live up to around 16 years in the wild. Against popular opinion, bats actually have Very Good eyesight, but use echolocation at night to navigate and find prey.
Unfortunately many bats across Europe are in decline, which is why they’re so heavily protected by European and British Law.
Bats are legally protected in Britain under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and in Europe under The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. Combined, these make it an offence to kill, injure, capture or disturb bats or obstruct access to, damage or destroy roosts. The maximum penalties can be up to 6 months in prison and a hefty fine of £5000 per bat. The place where the bats are roosting is protected, regardless of whether or not the bats are in situ at the time.
If work is to be carried out on a building, tree, or other structure (cave, mine, bridge etc) that is likely to contain roosting bats, then survey work has to be carried out by a suitably qualified ecologist in order to determine whether bats are present prior to the work being carried out. If planning permission is required then this should be carried out prior to submission of the planning application and the ecologist will provide a report to be included with the planning application.
A bat risk assessment can be carried out at any time of the year. This will be looking for signs of bats but also be looking at the potential for a building to contain roosting bats. Not all species of bat roost in lofts, and actually most species of bats in this country roost in crevices and can remain undetected unless you are outside at dusk when they are emerging. If the risk assessment determines that the structure has potential to contain roosting bats then further nocturnal surveys will need to be carried out between the months of May and September. It is always worth being well prepared in advance to avoid potential delays when undertaking a planning application.
Vertebrate Diversity
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