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Annual Report 2024-25

The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) is the UK's largest nature conservation charity, managing 200+ nature reserves and working across science, species recovery, land management, policy and public engagement. Founded in 1889, the charity operates a 10-year strategy to 2030 to put nature on the road to recovery. In 2024-25, standout achievements included winning the Earthshot Prize for the Saiga Antelope recovery project (population up from 40,000 to 2.8 million), completing the largest nature reserve in England at Geltsdale, leading the 60,000-strong Restore Nature Now march, and securing a 40% increase in European Turtle Dove breeding populations through an international hunting ban.

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About

Nature reserve management (200+ reserves, UK-wide); species recovery programmes for 100 priority species; habitat and landscape restoration (peatland, wetland, woodland, chalk grassland); seabird and marine conservation; international conservation partnerships (East Atlantic Flyway, UK Overseas Territories, Kazakhstan steppe); food and farming policy; public engagement and membership; science and research; policy advocacy and government engagement; youth and community engagement (Nature Neighbourhoods, schools) Custom geography from upload: UK-wide / Global

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 200+ nature reserves managed across the UK; Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative won the Earthshot Prize 2024 (Protect and Restore Nature category) — Saiga Antelope population recovered from fewer than 40,000 to 2.8 million since RSPB co-founded the initiative in 2005
Key Metric 2 Geltsdale in Cumbria completed as the largest RSPB nature reserve in England following final land purchase; 110,000 native trees already planted there; Wallasea Island in Essex expanded by 100 hectares via a £2.2m grant — the largest ever received from a trust by the RSPB
Key Metric 3 Restore Nature Now march drew 60,000+ people and 350+ organisations to London — the largest ever march for nature and biggest single-issue demonstration ahead of the 2024 general election; neonicotinoid (bee-killing) pesticide ban upheld in England January 2025 following sustained RSPB campaigning

Key Outcomes

  • Western European Turtle Dove breeding population increased 40% (615,000 more breeding pairs) following RSPB-led international hunting ban across Spain, Portugal and France 2021-2024; Flow Country (including RSPB Forsinard Flows) awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status — first ever peatland World Heritage Site
  • Government rejected emergency neonicotinoid pesticide application for sugar beet in England (January 2025) — protecting an estimated 1 billion bees per teaspoon of thiamethoxam; record number of Curlew chicks fledged in Northern Ireland through Curlew LIFE project
  • 39,000 migrating birds used Wallasea Island last winter; RSPB working toward 1.5 million member target; new Roundbarrow Farm in Wiltshire acquired — being transformed from intensive dairy farm to chalk grassland and woodland nature reserve for Stone-curlew and Chalkhill Blue butterfly

Geography

Other

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
61,819 native oysters deployed across UK restoration projects in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
15,064 people participated in the Beachwatch beach clean programme, submitting 1,256 litter surveys — the highest in the programme's 31-year history
Key Metric 3
17,613 young people engaged through in-person or online youth programme sessions
£11.5 billion Ofwat investment package secured for storm overflow cuts in England and Wales following sustained MCS advocacy
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
191,000 cats and kittens helped — 525 a day (2023: 184,000); 29,000 cats rehomed; 168,000 cats neutered including 13,000 feral cats; 93,000 cats microchipped
Key Metric 2
£96.9 million total income (2023: £89.3 million); £108.5 million net assets; £50.1 million legacy income; 9,800 volunteers (2023: 9,200)
Key Metric 3
430 cat owners helped to flee domestic abuse with 750 cats given temporary foster homes (Lifeline) — up from 229 in 2023; 5.9 million...
Mandatory microchipping for cats in England came into force June 2024 — direct result of years of Cats Protection campaigning; Pet Abduction Act came into force August 2024 making cat theft a specific criminal offence; Cat Manifesto sent to every election candidate with 111 newly elected MPs having responded
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
32,000 people participated in learning activities; 65,000 volunteer hours contributed; 250,000 biodiversity-boosting plants and bulbs planted; 24,000 snowdrops planted by Royal Parks Half Marathon...
Key Metric 2
94% of public rated their visit as good or excellent; 5 consecutive years all 8 parks awarded Green Flag; 160,000+ members making 300,000+ visits;...
Key Metric 3
1,000 free plants donated to local charities, community groups and schools; 200 old noticeboards and maps replaced; 12,500 enquiries handled by visitor support team;...
Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Garden at Regent's Park received planning permission and is progressing — opening Spring 2026; Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground renewal received planning permission — opening Spring 2026; Greenwich Park flagship restoration project completed — new meadows, shrubs, community facilities
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
2,876 ha of land under direct influence for nature, with 7 species recovery projects at or near implementation
Key Metric 2
17,935 wilder community engagements in 2024–25 (67,935 cumulative since 2020); 55 wilder initiatives established in schools and public spaces
Key Metric 3
Over 25,000 individuals engaged through skills training, community rewilding events and nature-based programmes
7 species recovery projects delivered including beavers returning to Derbyshire for the first time in 800 years, Atlantic salmon restoration on the River Ecclesbourne, and white-clawed crayfish ark sites