North Devon Bat Care

02/07/2026

A bat with an injury like this to its wrist cannot fly. It will crawl around in pain but please don’t try to release it.

On the third picture you can see an engorged ni**le. This bat did have a baby somewhere. Sadly she passed easy and her baby was never found. It may have already been eaten by the cat that broke this bats wrist 😞 we will never know. If any bat of any species is found with engorged ni**les then please do look to see if it’s baby is nearby. Keep a close eye out at know maternity roosts as the baby will start to search for food after a while and may still be saved.

06/01/2026

It’s with great sadness that I have to close North Devon Bat Care this year.

Time constraints, increasing costs, huge changes in family commitments, issues with my health and ever changing rules and regulations around running rescues, fundraising etc have left me in a position where I just cannot care for the bats the way I want to and I cannot see the situation changing any time soon.

I hate to let the bats down and the people who find them and want to help but I just cannot pull myself in so many directions any more.

Since starting the rescue I have managed to get over 1000 bats back out into the wild where they belong. There have been bats I just couldn’t save but thankfully far fewer die then have been released.

There are still people around helping bats across various parts of the UK. Further information can be found via The Bat Conservation Trust or your local bat group. I am always happy to share bat care advice with other bat carers. I dreaded that this day would come and I wish I didn’t have to close but I can nolonger pull myself in so many different directions.

Thank you so much to all who supported the rescue and to the bat finders who brought bats to me. Thank you also to the vets who have given me their back up and The Bat Conservation Trust.

27/11/2025

27/11/2025

Bats are in theory getting ready to hibernate or already hibernating but not all bats read the rule book so I’m still washing and caring for bats that are getting into difficulty bless them.
Samantha Pickering being batty as always at North Devon Bat Care.