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Bats are small flying nocturnal mammals, which eat insects and use echolocation to forage for prey. There are 17 native species of bat resident in the UK, all of which are European Protected Species and as such are afforded full legal protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Habitat Regulations 1994. Bats are often a consideration in planning and development projects, since they use buildings and trees within which to roost, and are vulnerable to impacts. It is an offence to kill, injure, capture, or disturb bats, or to damage or destroy their roosting habitats, although actions that are prohibited by the legislation can be made lawful on the granting of a licence by the appropriate statutory authority. Surveying for bats in the UK is seasonally constrained by their life cycle, since they are active for only a part of the year, hibernating during the winter months. Bat activity and emergence surveys, which are undertaken with a bat detector that records echolocation calls to determine which species is present, must be undertaken between when bats are most likely to be active, between March and October. Bat scoping and roost surveys however, can be undertaken at any time, although to disturb roosting or hibernating bats requires a Natural England bat licence holder to be present. GreenLink Ecology Ltd has substantial experience in bat scoping, activity, emergence and roost surveys, along with licence applications and mitigation schemes. For bat activity and emergence surveys the sophisticated Anabat system is used, which is at the leading edge in the detection, recording, and analysis of bats and their ultrasonic echolocation calls. If you think bats may be a constraint to your project, or have been asked to commission a bat survey by the Local Planning Authority, contact us. |
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