Construction firm fined after 150 bats died due to building work

A construction company has been fined £17,000 after destroying a colony of 150 bats during building work.

The soprano pipistrelle bats – which are protected under European law – were found to have died of dehydration and starvation after the hole used to enter and exit their roost was blocked off.

Dumfries Sheriff Court heard how the tenant of the sheltered housing bungalow, where the work was being carried out, suffered bat bites after more than 150 flew into his living quarters and bedroom from the house’s roof, where they had been trapped.

City Building (Glasgow) were fined £17,000 after pleading guilty to breaching animal conservation laws between June and July 2023.

The court heard how the construction firm had been contracted by the property’s landlord, Wheatley Homes South, to fit external cladding to the house in Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, and install solar panels.

Under the agreement, CBG was responsible for reviewing each property to determine whether bats were present.

After failing to carry out a review of the property, solar panels and external wall insulation were installed between June 23 and July 5, 2023.

The tenant and his family complained to Wheatley Housing South that a huge number of dead and dying bats were within the property on July 14.

The man was later taken to hospital, where he was admitted and treated for bat bites. He was subsequently rehoused.

An ecologist estimated that the roost contained around 150 adult bats and a similar number of pups, amounting to a total of 300 animals.

Around half were found dead in and around the property, with others dying or trying to get out of the property, most of whom were pups.

The bats appeared to be coming from a hole around the boiler in a bedroom where pipework ran up to the attic.

They could see new facias and work on the roof area, preventing bats from entering and exiting the roof as they had been able to prior to the work.

The injured bats were uplifted and removed for treatment.

Iain Batho, who leads on animal welfare for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “It is the responsibility of those involved in construction work to ensure that due diligence is carried out to prevent the unlawful disturbance of protected wildlife or their habitats.

“City Building (Glasgow) failed in their duty to carry out that necessary due diligence, which negatively impacted on a sizeable maternity roost and resulted in the death of around 150 bats.

“This impaired the ability of these bats to survive and rear their young during the maternity season and will impact significantly on the Soprano Pipistrelle bat population in that area.

“COPFS takes wildlife crime seriously, and action will be taken against individuals or companies where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and where it is in the public interest to do so.”