❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has suggested that urban animals, such as pigeons, rats, and seagulls, should feature on redesigned English banknotes.
💬KEY QUOTE: “What about the pigeons who have been our friends for thousands of years, or rats, with their amazing memories, or even gulls, with their amazing levels of intelligence?” – Geoff Edmond, RSPCA.
🎯IMPACT: The Bank of England has not yet finalized its designs, but plans to replace historic Britons such as Sir Winston Churchill and Jane Austen with wildlife, claiming this will improve anti-counterfeiting measures.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has proposed featuring urban creatures such as rats, pigeons, and seagulls on the next series of English banknotes. This follows the Bank of England’s announcement that it will replace historic Britons, including Sir Winston Churchill, with images of native wildlife on future notes.
The animal welfare charity welcomed the shift toward celebrating British nature but urged recognition for species that are often “overlooked” and “misunderstood.” Geoff Edmond of the RSPCA said, “Showcasing our native wildlife on everyday banknotes is a wonderful way to celebrate the animals that we share our towns, cities and countryside with—including the ones who don’t always make the ‘most popular’ lists.”
Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has branded the move to remove Churchill from banknotes “the definition of woke” and “absolutely crackers,” and even Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey argued that Churchill deserved “better than being replaced by a badger.”
The Bank of England claims it selected wildlife as the theme because it is more difficult to counterfeit, although it is not especially obvious why an image of a rat should be harder to counterfeit than an image of Churchill.
The Bank has not yet confirmed which specific animals will appear on the new notes, although concept designs have featured beavers, stags, robins, and red squirrels. The RSPCA has put forward its own mock-up designs, suggesting a pigeon for the £5 note, a fox on the £10, a gull on the £20, and a rat on the £50.
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