From today, the Bank will give the British public one month to weigh in on which of the animals should become a national treasure — literally — as the central image on the nation’s £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, replacing Winston Churchill and others.
The public will choose between classic British icons like the Atlantic puffin, the comedy seabird with its black-and-white feathering and bright red bill, or the country’s ubiquitous scavenger, the red fox, or the dazzling flash of the common kingfisher.
But the shortlist also includes some wildcards: the pine marten, a shy animal that hides in ancient forests, or the white-tailed eagle, a huge bird of prey that is part of a reintroduction program and the bane of angry farmers, or the curlew, a lesser-known wading bird with a large curved bill.
The Bank stressed the animals — grouped into three categories consisting of mammals; birds; and amphibians, insects and fish — are all native to the U.K. and had been compiled by a panel of wildlife experts.
Yet that is unlikely to satisfy the Bank’s critics, including Reform leader Nigel Farage, who accused the central bank in March of going “woke” with the plans to replace war hero Churchill on Britain’s £5 notes with a picture of a beaver.
No foreign species
While a beaver didn’t make the shortlist, the wartime prime minister could be phased out for an invertebrate if the public opt for a butterfly or a bumblebee.