Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment through public awareness campaigns, petitions and through the operation of nature reserves throughout the United Kingdom.

The origins of the RSPB lie with two groups of women, both formed in 1889. The Plumage League was founded by Emily Williamson at her house in Didsbury, Manchester, as a protest group campaigning against the use of great crested grebe and kittiwake skins and feathers in fur clothing. The Fin, Fur and Feather Folk was founded in Croydon by Eliza Phillips, Etta Lemon, Catherine Hall, Hannah Poland and others. The groups gained in popularity and amalgamated in 1891 to form the Society for the Protection of Birds in London. The Society gained its Royal Charter in 1904. The original members of the SPB were all women who campaigned against the fashion of the time for women to wear exotic feathers in hats, and the consequent encouragement of 'plume hunting'