The greatest bank robbery of all time: Bank of England charged with serious omission

It was with stunned silence and dismay that all at GetBertie received the news.

The beaver has not been shortlisted for the selection of wildlife, native to the UK, that will appear on the next series of banknotes.

The Bank of England is asking the public to give their views on a selection of wildlife.

Working with a panel of wildlife experts from across the UK, BoE has produced a shortlist of animals that could become the central image on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.  

The list has been grouped into three categories, which cover a variety of species and environments. Each banknote will feature a different animal, making them easily recognisable to the public. The shortlist is: 

Mammals	Birds	Amphibians, insects and fish
bottlenose dolphin	Atlantic puffin	Atlantic salmon
brown hare	barn owl	basking shark
European hedgehog	common kingfisher	buff-tailed bumblebee
grey seal	Eurasian curlew	common frog
pine marten	great spotted woodpecker	Emperor dragonfly
red fox	white-tailed eagle	marsh fritillary butterfly

The public can select up to two examples from each category in a consultation running until 3 July. Only the animals on the shortlist published today can feature as the central images on the new series.

Then came the sting in the tail: "We are not seeking alternative nominations."

BoE went on to to say: "In July 2025, the Bank announced that work will begin on designing the next series of banknotes, with the goal to increase counterfeit resilience, and launched a consultation on the theme for the design. In March 2026, the Bank announced that nature, with a particular focus on wildlife, had been chosen as the theme for the next series of banknotes.

"The nature theme received the highest proportion of nominations in last year’s public consultation and much of the feedback referred to wildlife that is native to the UK. Animals are vital to our landscapes, ecosystems and everyday lives and have long inspired iconic works of art, music and literature."

Bertie, CEO of The Lodge, said: "We are naturally disappointed that we have not been chosen to represent our species on a UK bank note.

"I hesitate to use the word discrimination, but I would like to remind Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, that the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is a native species to the UK. We were once widespread but were hunted to extinction in the 16th century for our fur, meat, and scent glands."

The consultation closes at 11.59pm BST on Friday 3 July 2026. BoE is seeking responses in particular from residents of the UK and British citizens living abroad.

They can be submitted via an online form.

Or better still, fill out our form and have your say.