Why do people value bats?



People support bat conservation for many reasons. Here are just a few:



- bats live closely with people – many bat species in the UK depend on built structures for roosting sites

- bats indicate a healthy environment, good quality of life indicators

- bats are the only flying mammals

- bats are key contributors to the variety of life [biodiversity] – one quarter of the world’s mammal species are bats, a third of the UK’s mammals are bats

- bats inspire

- bats play an important part in the world’s ecosystem

- every single species is unique and precious



DELIVERING BAT BIODIVERSITY



What is biodiversity?



Biodiversity is the variety of all living things. It includes all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, plants, fungi, bacteria and viruses.



In the UK we are working to maintain our bat biodiversity. We have 16 species of bat and we wish to see the populations of all these conserved and, where possible, enhanced.



All of our bats and their roosts are protected by law. Legislation is one way of maintaining bat biodiversity and shows that the Government thinks that conservation of bats is important.



The BCT’s Bat Biodiversity Project delivers a whole range of actions in conjunction with the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisations, volunteer bat workers, other environmental charities, sectors of trade and industry and government departments to help ensure that bat biodiversity is maintained.