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.

There were 2 recorded offences involving bat persecution during 2022-23.
Figure 16: Bat offences recorded by Police Scotland 2018-19 to 2022-23

As shown in Figure 16, there were two recorded offences involving bat persecution during 2022-23, an increase from none in 2021-22, but similar to the average of three offences per year over the previous four years. Both offences were for disturbing bat roosts.

Further detail: of bat persecution offences by date, offence type and police division is provided in Table 39 of the Tables supporting document.