Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 02/04/2021 To 04/04/2022
Charity name: Bristol Bat Rescue
Charity registration number:
Objectives and Activities
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SORP reference
Summary of the purposes Para 1.17
To rescue, rehabilitate and
of the charity as set out
release sick, injured and
in its governing
orphaned bats.
document
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 Para 1.17 and (1) To rescue and rehabilitate bats
1.19
activities in relation to found by the public or handed over
those purposes for the to animal carers, or have bats
public benefit, in euthanaised if that is what their
particular, the activities, welfare requires;
projects or services
identified in the (2) Safeguarding the public and
accounts. animal carers (e.g. veterinary
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
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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
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Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
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SORP reference
Para 1.38
Policy on grant making
Para 1.38
Policy on social
investment including
program related
investment
We have had no volunteers
Para 1.38 working with us during the
Contribution made by reporting period. All work has
volunteers been done by Stewart Rowden and
Kiri Green.
We assisted Wiltshire Bat Care
Other with their getting set up and
providing advice.
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Achievements and Performance
SORP reference
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the diference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its benefciaries and any wider benefts to society as a whole. |
Para 1.20 | (1) BBR helped at least 137 bats during this recording period. We managed to rescue and care for 26 bats- as we had thought we would not be able to do any care work in 2021 26 bats being rescued and cared for was an achievement. It does not sound much but knowing what we know about our personal and work commitments in 2021 and how stretched we were to even manage 26 we are happy with this. At one point we had to take in several pups from one roost and do all the hourly-two hourly feeds around the clock for a week until a colleague at the RSPCA had capacity to take over. As with previous years several of these bats were entrusted to us by the RSPCA or vets. We spent time on calls networking directly to help another 10 get rescued by other carers. The remaining 101 we helped through advice- either providing information on where else to get help, or if we were satisfed that the bat was suitable for release then advising on how to do this and what to do next if the release was unsuccessful. We get calls from across the UK, especially when the Bat Conservation Trust helpline is not open or too busy to answer. The furthest afeld was in Eire and took a signifcant amount of time over two days to try and fnd help for the bat. As usual 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 are aware of the requirements of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. We followed the guidelines set out by the Bat Conservation Trust in their Bat Care Guidelines. Of the 26 bats 5 had to be euthanised due to injuries, and 3 |
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died of injuries or illness. In at least one case we were called in by a vet to help diagnose a problem with a bat and said bat was euthanised on our advice. We therefore successfully rescued and rehabilitated 69-70% of the bats that came into our care during this reporting period. All bats that required the use of a flightcage travelled to North Devon Bat Care’s flightcage, and Wiltshire Bat Care’s flightcage. The busiest month was July 2021 with 37 requests for help, followed by August with 16. During the winter months bats are normally hibernating so it is rare to get calls during that time. Species we cared for: Serotines (2); Leisler’s (2); Brown long-eared (2); Whiskered (2); Common and Soprano Pipistrelles (18). Note that in 2022-2023 we have so far directly rescued and cared for 67 bats, and overall have helped 182 bats. We are still not using volunteers to assist us. (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 Bat Conservation Trust’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; (4) We worked in line with Bat Conservation Trust’s Covid 19 guidance to protect bats that came into our, and to educate the public on the issues. No bats in the UK are known to carry Covid 19. Experts believe it would be possible for someone with Covid 19 to infect a bat with the virus and spread that virus into the wild population, so we took what steps we could to prevent this happening in line with national guidelines. We assisted Imperial College London with research by allowing one of their assistants to come to out house to take samples of droppings for testing- their research found no evidence of bats being cared for by bat carers carrying Covid. (5) We were able to return 69-70% of the bats we helped back to the wild, and contribute to maintenance of the population. We have submitted our records from this reporting period to the local environmental records organisation coving our core areawe still need to submit records to the other areas we took bats in from. Regarding public education, we educated the public via social media (our website, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Twitter.
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Achievements against Para 1.41
objectives set
Performance of
fundraising activities Para 1.41
against objectives set
Investment performance Para 1.41
against objectives
Other
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Financial Review
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Review of the charity’s Para 1.21 We started the reporting period at
financial position at the +£743.
end of the period
We carried out no organised
fundraising activities. We received
£100 through donations across the
reporting period.
Our costs from travel, equipment, food,
medical supplies, and general costs
totalled £700.
In previous years we have
estimated that on average each
bat costs £20-£30.
We therefore ended the reporting
period with +£43.
Statement explaining the Para 1.22
policy for holding
reserves stating why they
are held
Amount of reserves held Para 1.22
Reasons for holding zero Para 1.22
reserves
Details of fund materially Para 1.24
in deficit
Explanation of any Para 1.23
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a
going concern
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Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
The charity’s principal sources of funds Para 1.47 (including any fundraising) Investment policy and objectives including any Para 1.46 social investment policy adopted A description of the Para 1.46 principal risks facing the charity
other
Structure, Governance and Management
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Description of charity’s
trusts:
Type of governing Para 1.25 C onstitution
document
(trust deed, royal charter)
How is the charity Para 1.25 Charitable Incorporated
constituted?
Organisation- Foundation
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)
Trustee selection Para 1.25 Election by Trustees
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
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Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction Para 1.51
and training of trustees
The charity’s
organisational structure Para 1.51
and any wider network
with which the charity
works
Relationship with any Para 1.51
related parties
In our previous report for 2020-
Other 2021 we stated that we would be
shutting down the charity and
continuing as a non-charity. We
have not done so yet – we need to
do so. But we should declare that
we have received no benefits from
anyone thinking we are a charity-
we do not refer to ourselves as
one and have stated we are not a
registered charity when asked.
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Reference and Administrative details
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Charity name Bristol Bat Rescue
Other name the charity
uses
Registered charity 1182760
number
Charity’s principal 77 Alcove Road.
address Fishponds,
Bristol
BS16 3DS
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Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
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Name of person (or body)
Dates acted if not for
Trustee name Office (if any) entitled to appoint trustee
whole year
(if any)
1 Kiri Green
2 Stewart Rowden
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4
5
6
7
8
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10
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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
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Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole
year
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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 informatio n
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Stewart Rowden Signature(s) Kiri Green Stewart James Rowden Full name(s) Kiri Joanne Green Position (eg Chair Secretary, Chair, etc) Date 27/02/2023