VWTImpactReport28Oct2025PT - Flipbook - Page 27
For the 昀椀rst three decades
of VWT’s existence,
Vincent Weir was the
driving force behind the
Trust’s achievements.
In the early 1980s, Vincent’s concern about the plight of bats in Britain and Ireland
led to a number of VWT research projects to identify the needs of rare bat species —
including the 昀椀rst ever radio-tracking study of lesser horseshoe bats. It soon became
clear that the widespread loss of roosting and breeding sites across the south and
west of Britain was driving the dramatic decline — and so, from the 1980s to the
2000s, Vincent purchased several important breeding and hibernation sites, including
a farm building in Devon, which is now home to the largest known maternity colony
of greater horseshoe bats in western Europe with 2,466 adults.
©Daniel Hargreaves
As we prepare for the next 50 years, the Trust’s long-held reputation for successful
evidence-led conservation, initiated by Vincent Weir, will shape VWT’s future, and the
Trust will continue to deliver conservation for mammals as long as it is needed.
Acknowledgements
VWT Authors and contributors: Lucy Rogers, Sam Bremner-Harrison, Jenny MacPherson, Daniel Hargreaves, Steve Carter,
Kate McAney, Laura Lawrance-Owen and Patrick Wright.
VWT Editors and Design: Clare Parsons and Julia Bracewell.
Interviews and Quotes: Nida Al-Fulaij, Johnny Birks, Paul Channin, Tim Hofmeester, Katherine Walsh, Kit Stoner,
Orly Razgour, Sarah Crowley, Huw Denman, Ferdia Marnell, Robert Rayner, Tom Tew, Sam Dyer and Crispin Scott.
Advice from VWT Trustees: Richard Young, Georgie Holmes-Skelton and Chris Ellam.
Finally, our huge thanks to our founder — the late Honourable John Vincent Weir — and all the sta昀昀, students, Trustees and
volunteers, who together have made VWT such an e昀昀ective team over the last 50 years. Also, to the many organisations
and individuals who have supported us through grants and donations, and to the landowners, land managers, communities
and partners with whom we work — without all your support and co-operation, we could not achieve this important work
for threatened mammal species.
Vincent Wildlife Trust 50 Years Impact Report 2025
27
