Puffin and bumblebee among 18 creatures shortlisted to feature on banknotes

Eighteen animals, birds, and insects have been chosen to appear on future banknotes, and the public can determine which animals have been included in future bank notes.

The wildlife beauty competition gives the vibrant kingfisher and common frog alike a chance of being featured in the Bank of England's next series of Bank of Europe notes.

Earlier this year, the replacement of historical figures, particularly Sir Winston Churchill, with British wildlife sent political figures into a rash of indignation.

However, people now have a month to discuss which species of wildlife should be honoured on the £5, £10, £20, and £50 notes.

Household pets were not allowed on the shortlist, which was chosen by a committee of wildlife experts. People will be able to vote for up to six of their favourite names from the shortlist.

Many voters will not be allowed to nominate any alternatives in an attempt to save the otherwise inevitable Stoaty McStoatface humour jokes.

Victoria Cleland, the bank's chief cashier, said, "I really hope the public will enjoy participating in our discussion to choose the animals to include on our next series of banknotes.

"The shortlisted animals showcase the wide variety of animals we can enjoy in the United Kingdom.

Public vote opens

Each of the new banknotes will feature one creature, but the public will be able to choose up to two of their favourites from each of three categories on the shortlist before the end of July. The bottlenose dolphin, the brown hare, the European hedgehog, the grey seal, the pine marten, and the red fox are among the mammals.

The second category of birds includes the Atlantic puffin, the barn owl, the common kingfisher, the Eurasian curlew, the great spotted woodpecker, and the white-tailed eagle. The Atlantic salmon, the basking shark, the buff-tailed bumblebee, the emperor dragonfly, and the marsh fritillary butterfly are among the amphibians, insects, and fish found in this section.

The jury of experts that selected the candidates is made up of wildlife filmmakers and presenters Gordon Buchanan, Miranda Krestovnikoff, and Nadeem Perera, as well as Ulster Wildlife's Katy Bell and academics Steve Ormerod and Dawn Scott. However, it will be Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey who makes the final decision, rather than selecting the four animals that receive the most public responses. The process of designing and evaluating printing the notes takes several years before they can be published.

A portrait of the monarch as well as photographs depicting the home countries will continue in the forthcoming series. However, the reverse side will no longer feature well-known celebrities from history for the first time since 1970. Former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, author Jane Austen, artist JMW Turner, and wartime codebreaker Alan Turing are among the notes on the circulating list, in ascending order of value.

'Silly thing to do'

It was the demise of wartime king Churchill that particularly offended lawmakers earlier this year.

They suggest we replace people like him with a snapshot of a beaver,

Reform leader Nigel Farage said so, although the beavers have since failed to make the shortlist.

I can't imagine a worse time to do this with a war raging in Europe,

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said. It was a silly thing to do, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said. The move, according to the bank, was primarily to prevent counterfeiting, so all photographs would have to be updated on banknotes as time goes forward. Emma Soames, Churchill's granddaughter, told the BBC that she never believed the picture of her grandfather on the fiver

was going to go on forever. When asked how she would feel if he were replaced by a badger, she replied,

Well, lucky badger or lucky grandpapa,

she said, adding that a good substitute should be a brave and brave animal. The badger was also unable to make the shortlist in the end. Rats, pigeons, squirrels, and gulls were praised by the RSPCA as intelligent and

"under-appreciated" animals that deserved Only the fox from the animal charity's list of candidates is listed as a candidate. On notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland, wildlife appears on banknotes in the United Kingdom, with mackerel, otters, red squirrels, and ospreys. Get all the headlines you need to start the day with our flagship newsletter.