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Wildlife shortlist published for new Bank of England notes

With a public vote now open on which species might be added to the next series of England bank notes, Conor O’Gorman reviews the shortlist.

When it comes to issues associated with money and banks, my interest has thus far centred around helping shooting clubs and businesses that have been victims of debanking.

However, on a more light-hearted tone, today the Bank of England has launched a public vote on a shortlist of mammals, birds, fish, insects and amphibians for its next series of bank notes.

This follows a public consultation last year on which theme to take, followed by the announcement in March 2026 that the focus would be on ‘nature’ and a review panel was created to decide on a shortlist.

These developments have really captured the public imagination and been the focus of political debate about replacing historical figures with wildlife.

Various conservation charities have also pitched in with their recommendations, most infamously the RSPCA advocating the inclusion of pigeons, rats and seagulls.

The shortlist

The results are in and the shortlist is as follows:

  • Category A options are bottlenose dolphin, brown hare, hedgehog, grey seal, pine marten and red fox. You can choose two of these mammals.
  • Category B options are puffin, barn owl, kingfisher, curlew, great spotted woodpecker and white-tailed eagle. You can choose two of these birds.
  • Category C options are salmon, basking shark, buff-tailed bumblebee, common frog, emperor dragonfly and marsh fritillary butterfly. You can choose two from this list.

The reason for the review is to improve anti-counterfeit features and wildlife imagery is a good option for the best use of that technology.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has long featured wildlife on its notes – mackerel, otters, red squirrels and osprey. 

Ulster Bank features highly detailed plants, landscapes and wildlife on its ‘Living in Nature’ polymer series of bank notes in Northern Ireland – including brent geese, Irish hare, eels and pine marten.

The question now is which species will feature on the next series of Bank of England notes.

Shooting's conservation success stories

There are great conservation stories to tell about how shooting helps many of the terrestrial species on the shortlist, with curlew perhaps the front runner.

We will of course all have different views on our favourites from that shortlist. For me its hedgehog, pine marten, barn owl, kingfisher, bumblebee and butterfly.

If ever there was a good example of nature red in tooth and claw for the public, it was the audible crunching noises live on this season’s Springwatch as a pine marten began feasting on a brood of grasshopper warbler chicks.

The public vote runs until 6 July and you can have your say here.

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Conor OGorman

Conor O’Gorman has worked in a variety of conservation, policy and campaigning roles at BASC over the last 20 years. A zoology graduate with a PhD awarded for grey partridge research, he has over 25 years’ experience in conservation and land management.