More about the VWT

Who we are

The Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) is an independent charitable body founded by Vincent Weir in 1975 and has been supporting wildlife conservation ever since. The Trust has its head office in Herefordshire, with regional offices in Wales, south-west England and Ireland.

Read more about our history below.

What we do

We conserve a range of endangered mammals both through research and practical management. We manage our own reserves, undertake pioneering research and provide expert advice to others through practical demonstration.

Our work has always focused on the needs of British and Irish mammals. Currently our research is centred not only on the pine marten but also on the bats and the polecat. Read more here on our research activities.

We also manage some 50 reserves for mammals (primarily bats). Read more here.

Our Charitable Aims

• To promote the conservation of rare mammals through a greater understanding of their ecology
• To conserve mammals through the practical management of strategically important sites
• To advise on the needs of mammals within habitats and landscapes, working with others
• To undertake and publish innovative applied studies on endangered mammal species.

Our History

In the 1970s, when the scale of the otter's pesticide-induced decline became apparent in Britain, the Trust became heavily involved in otter conservation. Its Otter Haven Project helped to protect and improve riparian habitats in strategic areas in England and Wales, enabling fragile populations to survive and recover.

Subsequently, the Trust made a major contribution to a series of nationwide otter distribution surveys in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Its staff visited other European countries to survey vulnerable otter populations, and helped to train local naturalists in the use of survey techniques.

Another contribution was the mass production and free distribution of fyke net guards to prevent otters from drowning in these nets. The Trust has also rescued many injured and orphaned otters, rehabilitating them to the wild in a release project to repopulate the River Derwent in North Yorkshire. Otters are now recovering well in Britain, and other organisations are now leading the effort on otter monitoring and practical conservation work.

Since 1980, when its first bat reserve was acquired, the VWT has been active in bat conservation in Britain and Ireland. The Trust has funded a series of research projects on the feeding and roosting requirements of rarer bats, such as the horseshoe bats. It also plays an important educational role through the production of a range of literature about bats and bat conservation. In 1983 the VWT undertook the first survey of the pine marten in Britain, providing evidence that subsequently helped to achieve legal protection for the species.

The Trust has played a key role in efforts to conserve the water vole in Britain. In 1989-1990 and 1996-98, the Trust undertook the first and second national surveys of this species, revealing the scale of its decline and prompting conservation action on a number of fronts, including legal protection.

Since the 1990s, a series of studies have been carried out focusing on the recovery of the polecat in Britain. The Trust also launched a scheme in 1996 for recording the presence of elusive populations of the pine marten in England and Wales and this project continues.

In recent years the VWT has concentrated its resources on bat conservation, including the protection and enhancement of roosts for rare bats. It has also maintained its high profile involvement with conservation-led research and survey work on the pine marten, polecat and dormouse.