Wildlife Crime in Scotland 2022

Bat persecution

Bats and their roosts are protected by the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994, which gives strict legal protection to all species listed under Annex IV of the EU Habitats Directive – known as European Protected Species (EPS). Scotland's bat population is relatively small compared to other parts of the UK. Bats, their breeding sites and resting places are at particular risk from development works and evidencing the presence of bats in these cases can be very challenging.

Recorded crimes

Figure 16: There were no recorded offences involving bat persecution during 2021-22, compared to 8 offences in 2020-21.

Bat offences recorded by Police Scotland 2017-18 to 2021-22

As shown in Figure 16, there were no recorded offences involving bat persecution during 2021-22. This is down from the 8 offences in the previous year, which was the highest level in the last 5 years. The average for the last 5 years was around 3 offences per year.