Seasonal swarming is a crucial component of the annual life-cycle of temperate zone bat species, and the underground sites and built structures where it occurs can be visited by tens of thousands of individual bats, which can travel 60km or more from their home roost.
The Wildlife & Countryside Act prohibits disturbance, damage or destruction of 'places of shelter or protection' used by bats and other protected species, but Natural England insists that it doesn't apply to swarming sites, which are therefore left without any effective legal safeguards.
Under Natural England's current policy, therefore, a roost under a roof tile used by a single bat has far greater legal protection than a swarming sites that provides a crucial resource for thousands of bats, and which is critical to the health of bat populations over a vast area.
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Anyone else bothered by this?
The Wildlife & Countryside Act prohibits disturbance, damage or destruction of 'places of shelter or protection' used by bats and other protected species, but Natural England insists that it doesn't apply to swarming sites, which are therefore left without any effective legal safeguards.
Under Natural England's current policy, therefore, a roost under a roof tile used by a single bat has far greater legal protection than a swarming sites that provides a crucial resource for thousands of bats, and which is critical to the health of bat populations over a vast area.
More details here: Log in to Facebook
Anyone else bothered by this?