## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
## **From 02/04/2020 To 04/04/2021**
## **Charity name: Bristol Bat Rescue**
## **Charity registration number: 1182760**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|**To rescue, rehabilitate and release**
**sick, injured and orphaned bats.**
**To educate the public about bats,**
**including science, conservation and**
**rehabilitation, which may include use**
**of the permanent licensed education**
**bats.**|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or services
identified in the accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|**(1) To rescue and rehabilitate bats found**
**by the public or handed over to animal**
**carers, or have bats euthanaised if that is**
**what their welfare requires;**
**(2) Safeguarding the public and animal**
**carers (e.g. vetinary staff) who have come**
**into contact with bats to ensure that they**
**are aware of the risks of European Bat**
**Lyssaviruses (EBVL 1 and 2), which is**
**fatal if contracted from an infected bat**
**and not treated within time;**
**(3) To assist the public and animal carers**
**to ensure bats and their roosts are**
**treated in line with the Animal Welfare**
**Act 2006, the Conservation of Habitats**
**and Species Regulations 2017, and the**
**Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981;**
**(4) To prevent spread of Covid 19 to UK**
**bats;**
**(5) To contribute to conservation efforts**
**for Protected Species (bats) through**
**rescuing and rehabilitating those that can**
**be returned to the wild to maintain the**
**wild population; through educating the**
**public about bats; and through recording**
**and sharing data of use to**
**conservationists.**|
|Statement confirming|Para 1.18|**Yes**|
|---|---|---|
|whether the trustees have|||
|had regard to the guidance|||
|issued by the Charity|||
|Commission on public|||
|benefit|||
## **Additional information (optional)**
## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38||
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38||
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|**At the start of the reporting period we**
**had several trainees/volunteers working**
**with us. By the end of June 2020 we were**
**down to the two Trustees and Sophie.**
**Some of our volunteers had set up their**
**own rescue organisation Severn Wildlife**
**Rescue (SWT) with our former trainee**
**and third Trustee Ashley earlier in the**
**year without our knowledge. We gave**
**SWT Bristol Bat Rescue equipment to**
**assist them with their set up, but could**
**not endorse them or allow them to be a**
**franchise as we felt we had insufficient**
**information or input regarding animal**
**care. Due to an apparent**
**misunderstanding member of SWT put**
**out messages in social media and to**
**other carers stating that we had stopped**
**taking bats and that Bristol Bat Rescue**
**wished all bats be referred to their**
**organisation. This was not the case- due**
**to our family circumstances we were**
**scaling back our work and were**
**discussing ending the charity, but not**
**Bristol Bat Rescue as an organisation,**
**and we did not authorise anyone to state**
**that Bristol Bat Rescue wanted bats**
**referred to SWT. We intended to be**
**available to help bats that needed an**
**experienced Bat Conservation Trust**
**(BCT) registered bat carer, focusing our**
**efforts on taking in bat pups, juveniles**
**and difficult cases that needed our care**
**and then being passed on to another**
**carer with a flightcage to complete their**|
**preparation for the wild. We would use our experience to assist the public and other bat carers. We had intended to register some of our volunteers, such as Charley and Nai, as BCT registered carers, but after a discussion with BCT it was agreed that they would have to complete another full season of bat care with us to demonstrate they were suitable. This was not practical, so their training with us ended- we understood they would seek other BCT registered trainers. As a result we were down to just us two and Sophie as bar carers to do what we could, with a new baby. So we could only take on a smaller number of bats than in previous years. Thankfully we had the support of North Devon Bat Care, Evesham Bat Care, other experienced BCT bat carers and the newly formed Wiltshire Bat Care who we helped get registered with BCT.** Other
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|**(1) BBR helped 266 bats during the**
**reporting period.**
**Of these 64 were rescued and cared for**
**by us, the rest we assisted by giving**
**advice on immediate care and details of**
**who else to approach.**
**Of the 202 we assisted through advice**
**only, 128 were from outside our area we**
**could directly respond to. We gave**
**advice to people from across the UK-**
**particularly when the BCT helpline was**
**not available. This can involve a lot of**
**work as we try to identify any immediate**
**actions the finder could take to assist the**
**animal, and then time spent trying to**
**identify an appropriate organisation or**
**group, or vet, who may be able to assist**
**in that locality (often contacting said**
**organisation/group/vet to see if they can**
**do so).**
**Due to our lack of assistants during most**
**of the reporting period our ability to**|
**directly rescue and care for bats was limited to 64. This number would have been lower if Sophie had been unable to care for bat pups. Thankfully new bat carers such as Wiltshire Bat Care, and Francis in southern Gloucestershire were starting up in summer 2020, taking on bats that in previous years we would have taken. Of the 64 bats, 16 (25%) died- 9 required euthanaisia by a vet. We referred several other bats in our area directly to vets to be euthanized due to obvious untreatable serious injuries in photos/videos sent to us by finders- these are in our stats as advice rather than rescued and cared for in person. Of the remaining 48, 3 were unreleasable. We therefore successfully rescued and rehabilitated 70% of the bats that came into our care during this reporting period. Our success rate would have been 75% like the previous reporting period, had we not agreed to take on bats mistreated by other carers who proved to be unfit for release. We reported these matters to BCT. Of the bats rescued 28 are recorded as pups who came in during June and July 2020. 15 are recorded as juveniles later in the year, and 21 were adults. Species cared for: Serotines (2); Leisler (6); Brown long-ear (4); Daubenton (1); Natterer’s (2); Whiskered (1); Common and Soprano Pipistrelles (49). All bats that required the use of a flightcage travelled to North Devon Bat Care’s flightcage, or that of other bat carers who do not wish to be identified for reasons we understand.**
**We carried out our work in line with the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. We followed the guidelines set out by BCT in their Bat Care Guidelines. We provided everyone involved with us a copy of our standards, which they signed and agreed to follow.**
**(2) It is a standard part of our call procedure to check with callers that no one has been bitten or scratched by a**
**bat, and to advise them not to handle bats with unprotected hands. We did have instances of people reporting being bitten or scratched by bats, and we gave them appropriate advice to seek medical advice in line with BCT’s guidelines and chapter 27 of the NHS Green Book. If a bat we took in had bitten/scratched a person, and the bat died, we sent the corpse to APHA for testing with the details of the person who was bitten/scratched. We used our social media accounts to educate the public that EBLV 1 and 2 (aka rabies) is a virus carried by a very small number of bats in the UK, despite the UK being officially rabies-free, and that it is fatal if any possible infection is not treated in time. (3) As with (2) it is part of our call procedure to cover any legal aspects regarding the protection of bats and their roosts we feel are relevant for the situation. Again we used social media accounts to educate the public on these matters. Unfortunately we encountered bat carers who mistreated bats and misled other carers and the public in this reporting period. We did what we could to treat bats that had been in their care where we had access, and we assisted any investigations we were asked to contribute to. During this period footage of our work was published by the Dodo channel on Facebook and Youtube without our knowledge and without crediting us, as well as presenting a false narrative. (4) We worked in line with Bat Conservation Trust’s Covid 19 guidance to protect bats that came into our care during this reporting period, and to educate the public on the issues. No bats in the UK carry Covid 19- there is a concern that bat carers may give Covid 19 to bats which are then returned to the wild ( we would be expected to euthanaise any bats that might post this risk). (5) We were able to return 70% of the bats we helped back to the wild, and**
**contribute to maintenance of the population. In particular the rescue and release of several Leisler pups from the important urban population still present in Bristol. We have submitted our records from this reporting period to BRERC, and will do so for the neighbouring areas’ Local Record Centres when opportunity allows. Due to Covid 19 we carried out no public education events in person during this reporting period. However, we continue to educate the public via social media on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and Google . In addition, the Dodo used footage of one of our bats without our knowledge. Our work has been used to educate a larger audience in the UK and around the world than we had realised.**
## **Additional information (optional)**
## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||||
|---|---|---|
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41||
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41||
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41||
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|**We started the reporting period with**
**+£1075.**
**We raised £1444 through GoFundMe,**
**PayPal donations and a couple of**
**donations from the public who passed**
**bats to us.**
**Our costs from travel, equipment, food,**
**medical supplies, and general costs**
**totalled £1413. We donated £300 to other**
**bat carers, as well as gifting equipment to**
**Severn Wildife Rescue. We also noted**
**that we failed to claim £375 in expenses**
**for reporting period 2019-20. Therefore**
**our balace at the end of the reporting**
**period is +£731.**|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22||
|Amount of reservesheld|Para 1.22||
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22||
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24||
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23||
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47||
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46||
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46||
|Other|||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|**C**onstitution|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Charitable Incorporated
Organisation- Foundation|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|Election by Trustees|
|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements||where relevant about:|
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction and
training of trustees|Para 1.51||
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51||
|Other||**Early on in the reporting period Ashley**
**Dale and Stewart Rowden both submitted**
**resignations as Trustees. Ashley’s was**
**recorded with the Charity Commission,**
**but when a lack of appropriate**
**replacements were found by the**
**remaining Trustee, Kiri, Stewart was**
**asked to withdraw his resignation whilst**
**we considered whether to continue as a**
**charity. A suitable person from outside**
**Bristol was approached to become the**
**third Trustee, and signed the relevant**
**paperwork, but we were unsure whether**
**we wanted to carry on with the charity so**
**did not register them as a Trustee. We**
**have decided we do not want to continue**
**as a charity at this time, and will be**|
**closing the charity down, but carrying on with Bristol Bat Rescue in a limited capacity due to family reasons.**
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Bristol Bat Rescue|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses||
|Registered charitynumber|1182760|
|Charity’s principal address|77 Alcove Road.
Fishponds,
Bristol
BS16 3DS|
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## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
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20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee(if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Kiri Green||||
||Stewart Rowden||||
||AshleyDale||Until May2020||
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Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved **Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Description of the assets held in this capacity
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
**Type of Name Address adviser**
**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Other optional information**
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
|**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (eg Secretary,**
**Chair, etc)**
**Date**|Kiri Green|Stewart Rowden|
|---|---|---|
||Kiri Joanne Green|Stewart James Rowden|
||
Chair||
||06/04/2022||
||06/04/2022||