BS 8596:2015

What is this standard about?

All UK bats and their roosts are protected by law. If you manage trees or woodland you must meet legal requirements to follow best practice in avoiding killing, injuring or disturbing bats or damaging or destroying their roosts. It means you need to survey the trees or woodland you manage to look for bats and roosts. This standard will help you do so by bringing together in one place guidance on all aspects of the surveying process, for all audiences. It covers operations ranging from the management of individual garden trees, through the loss of woodlands as a result of development, to ongoing forestry management. 

Who is this standard for?

Among others: 

• Woodland managers and operatives
• Arboriculturists
• Planning officers
• Developers
• Ecological consultants
• Utility companies
• Flood risk managers

Why should you use this standard? 

Because it:

• Explains how to survey for bats in individual trees, groups of trees and woodland
• Outlines a systematic process involving scoping, roost and activity surveys
• Offers guidance on how best to present the data
• Promotes sustainable forest management
• Offers guidance on when the services of a bat specialist might be needed

For those directly involved in managing trees or woodland, this standard will help you manage regulatory risk and give assurance that you are following best practice in assessing the presence of bats.