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The Bank of England announced on October 8 that barn owls, bumblebees, puffins, and hedgehogs will replace historical figures like Winston Churchill on future British banknotes. This decision followed a public consultation where nearly half a million people voted to choose the wildlife imagery. The buff-tailed bumblebee was the most popular choice among the 18 animals presented. Despite a significant decline in cash usage due to digital payment methods, the BoE plans to continue featuring the monarch on banknotes while updating designs to enhance distinctiveness and security against counterfeiting.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Bank of England announced in October 2023 that barn owls, buff-tailed bumblebees, Atlantic puffins, and European hedgehogs will feature on new banknotes, replacing historical figures like Winston Churchill. Over nearly half a million public votes cast for a shortlist of 18 animals, the buff-tailed bumblebee was the most popular choice, followed by the barn owl and European hedgehog. Despite receiving fewer votes than some alternatives, the Atlantic puffin was selected to represent marine wildlife and add variety to the new banknotes. The redesign aims to enhance security features while celebrating UK biodiversity; however, specific animals for each denomination have yet to be decided. The first of these new notes is expected to enter circulation over the next few years.
Written for “Animals On Banknotes” on 2026-10-08,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 64323 · logged 2026-10-08
Barn owls, bees, puffins and hedgehogs to feature on British banknotes
asserted
owls → feature → banknotes
LONDON – Barn owls, bumblebees, puffins and hedgehogs will feature on new Bank of England banknotes over the coming years, replacing World War II leader Winston Churchill and other historic figures, the Bank of England said on Oct 8.
asserted
Bank → feature → Oct
The BoE’s decision in March to no longer feature famous Britons on future banknotes, in favour of native wildlife, dismayed politicians across the political spectrum and prompted speculation that the central bank wanted to avoid controversies around historic figures.
The BoE said the change would make its banknotes more distinctive and harder to counterfeit, and followed a public consultation where people had been invited to choose between different categories of images.
asserted
people → feature → images
Almost 500,000 people voted on a selection of 18 animals released by the central bank in June.
asserted
people → vote → June
The buff-tailed bumblebee was the most popular creature on the shortlist, followed by the barn owl and the European hedgehog.
asserted
bumblebee → follow → owl
Red foxes and common kingfishers received more votes than the Atlantic puffin, which the BoE selected to ensure a marine animal was on the list.
asserted
animal → receive → list
“I am delighted that nearly half a million people responded to our wildlife imagery consultation, showing that cash still matters,” BoE chief cashier Victoria Cleland said.
asserted
Cleland → delight → consultation
Cash usage has fallen steeply in Britain in recent years, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic which led to almost all retailers accepting contactless card and smartphone payments.
asserted
retailers → fall → payments
Under 10% of payments were made by cash in 2024, but trade body UK Finance said it expected the decline to level off as a small percentage of Britons strongly preferred to use cash.
asserted
percentage → make → cash
The new banknotes will continue to feature the monarch.
asserted
banknotes → continue → monarch
The £5 Churchill note, issued in 2016, is the first due to be replaced, followed by the £10 with novelist Jane Austen, £20 with artist JMW Turner and £50 with mathematician Alan Turing.
asserted
note → issue → Turing
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