18th May 2017

We are pleased to announce the release of the National Bat Monitoring Programme Annual report for 2016. It's thanks to the 960 volunteers who surveyed 1,984 sites in 2016 (equating to approximately 17,700 hours) that we are able to present these findings for 11 of Great Britain's 17 resident bat species.

Of 11 species surveyed, all are considered to have been stable or to have increased in comparison to the baseline year of monitoring (1999 for most species). It should be remembered that these trends reflect relatively recent changes in bat populations. It is generally considered that prior to this there were significant historical declines in bat populations dating back to at least the start of the 20th century. This suggests that current legislation and conservation action to protect and conserve bats is being successful, and it is vitally important that this continues.

The National Bat Monitoring Programme is run by the Bat Conservation Trust, in partnership with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and supported and steered by Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, and Scottish Natural Heritage. The NBMP is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the programme.

To read the full report please go to: http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/nbmp_annual_report.html

If you would like to find out more about how to contribute to the National Bat Monitoring Programme please see http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/nbmp.html

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