Waking up bats, hazing wolves and draining snake lakes: Exploring the EU Habitats Directive's prohibition of "deliberate disturbance"

The Habitats Directive requires EU member states to prohibit the "deliberate disturbance" of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates belonging to species listed in its Annex IV. Through analysis of legislation, case law, guidance documents and practical examples, this article explores the question what types of activities, under what conditions, constitute such deliberate disturbance. The analysis shows that, even if some question marks concerning the disturbance prohibition's scope remain, many of the prohibition's implications have by now been clarified by the EU Court of Justice. These implications appear to be of considerable practical importance.