Operation Bat, launched this week by the police, will provide a standard operating procedure for the police to deal with bat–related offences and assist in preventing bat crime.

Bats are protected by law because their numbers suffered a significant decline in the 20th century, but more bat-crimes are worryingly on the increase. Builders and renovators are responsible for many of the cases.

This project comes at a time when bats have been recognised as a Wildlife Crime Conservation priority and is a direct result of the empirical evidence provided by last year’s ‘Bat Crime’ report, published by the Bat Conservation Trust and RSPB. The report recorded that 144 bat offences had been committed in the UK over two years, a number far higher than anticipated but now suspected to be only the tip of the iceberg.

Amy Coyte, Chief Executive of the Bat Conservation Trust said, “Builders and developers were responsible for over two-thirds of the offences identified by our ‘Bat Crime’ report, but if bats are taken into consideration before development starts there is absolutely no need for a crime to occur.”

Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom of North Wales Police, and spokesman on wildlife issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) was responsible for bats becoming a police priority in conjunction with the Joint Nature Conservation Council (JNCC).

“The emphasis of Operation Bat is on prevention rather than enforcement,” said Brunstrom.“The overall aim of it is to raise awareness of the legislation that protects bats so as to provide a clear message that bat crime is police business and will not be ignored.”

Operation Bat is a collaborative project between the police, the Bat Conservation Trust and the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisations (English Nature, the Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage).

Bat Facts:

• There are sixteen bat species in the UK, all of which are threatened. The smallest (the pipistrelle) weighs just 4g, and the largest (the noctule) 40g.
• Declining bat numbers have made it necessary to legally protect all UK bats and their roosts, whether they are in residence or not. This protection also makes it an offence to block their entrance and exit holes without seeking advice.
• Bats are the only mammals that fly.
• Bats are warm-blooded, give birth and suckle their young. They are very sociable animals, living together in colonies.
• They are long-lived (some can live for up to 30 years), are intelligent, highly mobile and more agile in flight than most birds.
• Bats fly and feed in the dark, which they are able to do by producing a stream of high-pitched calls and listening to the returning echoes which give a distinct ‘sound’ picture of the surroundings. This is called echolocation.
• Bats in the UK eat only insects, which they catch in flight or pick off water, foliage or the ground.
• When there are few insects, bats hibernate in cool parts of buildings, caves or hollow trees.