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Bats in Churches project gets off the ground
Loss of habitat has forced some bat species to take refuge in buildings such as historic churches.
Funding boost to protect bats and historic churches 

A groundbreaking project to help churches that host large bat roosts has received £3.8 million funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Led by Natural England, the Bats in Churches project will deliver a five-year partnership between wildlife, heritage conservation and church organisations to help save bats and protect churches.

Bat species in the UK have suffered significant historical declines and loss of habitat has forced some species to take refuge in buildings such as historic churches.

While many church communities live harmoniously with bat roosts, in some cases bats are causing irreparable damage to historically significant monuments and memorials, as well as impacting on people who use the buildings.

The Bats in Churches project will:
  • find practical solutions to enable 102 of the most severely impacted church communities to reduce the impact of bats on the church, without harming them
  • create a new network of fully trained volunteers who can undertake bat surveys and support congregations who have bat roosts at their church
  • train professional ecologists and historic building specialists in new techniques and build knowledge to improve their advice to congregations
  • collect and collate up-to-date data from over 700 churches across England, helping to build a specialist knowledge base of bats and their use of churches
  • strengthen local communities so people value and engage with their local natural and historic built heritage.


Natural England chairman, Andrew Sells, said: “The funding announced today will give great impetus to the partnership of heritage, wildlife and church organisations which aims to resolve conflicts.

"Together these groups are demonstrating astonishing passion and drive in working together to save these wonderful animals and protect cherished churches across the country.”

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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News Shorts
Defra to host bluetongue webinar for vets

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will be hosting a webinar for veterinary professional on bluetongue on Thursday, 25 April 2024.

Topics covered will include the transmission cycle, pathology and pathogenesis, clinical signs (including signs seen in recent BTV-3 cases in the Netherlands), and control and prevention.

The session, which will take place from 6pm to 7.30pm, is part of Defra's 'Plan, Prevent and Protect' webinar series, which are hosted by policy officials, epidemiologists and veterinary professionals from Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The bluetongue session will also feature insights from experts from The Pirbright Institute.

Those attending will have the opportunity to ask questions. Places on the webinar can be booked online.