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Wildlife
- Close
- - We protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction. We do this through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Wild places
- Close
- - Some habitats contain such a richness of life that we need to protect them at all odds. We are working to preserve ancient woodlands, orchards and wood pastures and parklands, as well as the countless species they support.
What we do
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- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
Who we are
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- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
Success stories
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- - We strive to bring our most threatened species in the UK and around the world back from the brink of extinction. Our successes come from ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Get involved
- Close
- - There are so many ways you can help save endangered species. Fancy taking part in a survey, joining us on a wildlife event or becoming a regular supporter?
Shop
- Close
- - Support our work in our shop with a range of charity gifts, home-ware, cards and more. 100% of the profits go directly to help wildlife both in the UK an overseas.
Donate
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- - There is nothing natural about the alarming rate at which we are losing animals and their homes. It is absolutely avoidable. We can stop the loss of our wildlife – but we need your support. You can act now by choosing to give to our cause. Thank you.

Home // Research grants // Our UK mammal projects // Bat ringing in the UK

Bat ringing in the UK

Producing guidelines and a centralised database for bat ringing in the UK

Funding for this project has now finished

We are lucky enough to have 18 species of bats in the UK, all of which need our help. Putting uniquely numbered rings on wild bats to identify individuals is a long established technique associated with important bat research and monitoring.

The problem

For a long time bat ringing was carried out by a small number of bat specialists. However, in recent years it has become more widely used by academics, bat workers and bat groups and a small number of consultants involved in long term research projects. Despite this increase in use of the technique, we do not yet have a centralised database for keeping bat ringing records. And there are no specific UK-wide guidelines on ringing techniques and best practice.

Over 4,000 bat rings are sold per annum in the UK but there is no national dataset of ringed bats.

The solution

Developing a national database for keeping centralised bat ringing records will result in a large amount of data that can be used to learn many things.

We will be better able to understand the structure and dynamics of bat populations and it will help us improve our understanding of the impact of threats to bats. It can also be used assess any potential impacts of ringing studies overall on bat welfare and minimise any impact through best practice guidance.

The first phase of delivering this is to reach a consensus amongst bat ringers on the content of the ringing guidelines and database. This will be achieved by inviting the UK’s experienced bat ringers, licensing bodies, and others involved with ringing projects, to answer a questionnaire and a attend a one-day workshop .

The next phases will focus on developing the guidelines and a centralised database based once a way forward has been agreed.

Together we are working towards a better understanding of our threatened bats.

Thank you to all our donors who helped us fund this work. You can help us support more projects like this with a donation today:

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