Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Arne Peninsular, Isle of Purbeck

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Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Arne Peninsular, Isle of Purbeck

About the RSBP:

It was founded in 1889, the RSPB has grown into Europe's largest wildlife conservation charity, and it has more than 1 million members. Its offices are across the UK, the RSBP has widened its sphere of influence to include a huge range of issues that affect both wildlife and habitats.

History:

The RSPB was formed to counter the trade in grebe fur. This was the skin and soft under-pelt of a great crested grebe's breast feathers, which were used as a fur substitute in ladies fashions.

Once this caught on, the superb head frill feathers of the adult's grebes breeding plumage became highly fashionable in the military trade. The feathers could only be taken by killing the birds. Due to that, the numbers of grebes fell dramatically. The style for decorating fancy hats with wild-caught feathers was declining before legislation could be put in place to prevent their uses.

Across 1860, the great crested grebe was close to extinction in Ireland and Britain. Legislation, changing fashions and raise in the number of lakes available for the breeding resulted with