SPW is opening a private, members-only Facebook page for anyone who would like to join us and contribute to the cause. Our goal is to further our research and conduct a more targeted study of the cats active throughout Surrey.
We need new members to join us as volunteer field researchers and investigators, as well as online admin support staff to coordinate sighting reports and assist with other online studies. We also require essential new equipment and funding for DNA testing. Top of the wishlist for new tech is a thermal imaging camera.
Have you had a sighting yourself? Know someone who has? Or just have an interest in the British big cat phenomenon and want to meet like-minded people? Please get in touch. If you have any special skills or knowledge you think would be useful—or own any equipment such as photographic or video gear, camera traps, a drone, or even just a pair of binoculars—we’d love to hear from you.
Membership is free and includes:
- Access to the SPW database and ongoing Surrey panther sightings timeline, dating back to 1825 (T&Cs apply).
- An ID membership card to present when investigating sighting reports or gathering evidence on our behalf.
- An invitation to the annual SPW General Meeting, held in Guildford, Surrey.
- Invitations to local meet-ups, walkabouts, and field studies searching for signs.
- Weekend vigils in hotspot areas—if you're brave enough to be out after dark in leopard country—where you'll help gather evidence and take shifts in a hide, manning cameras, sound, and night vision equipment.
Membership is open to anyone aged 16+ who is relatively fit and able-bodied. Active field studies may require climbing over gates and scrambling through undergrowth. We ask that noise and disturbance be kept to a minimum—we’re here to observe and report, not bash bushes with a big stick!
Training and tips will be provided in:
- Deploying camera traps
- Using plaster of Paris to cast and record pug marks
- Collecting DNA samples from possible kills
No Membership Fee
All we ask is a one-off donation—whatever you can afford—to support our equipment and DNA testing fund. All funds raised and spent will be recorded and available for audit at the Annual General Meeting.
(Donation page coming soon.)
Please fill out the application form below to register your interest.
