Now Eager for Beavers?

 

In England, beavers were driven to extinction some 400 years ago. This wipe-out was caused by a combination of a fashion for beaver skin hats, enthusiasm for hunting with dogs and habitat destruction by farmers. This beaver eradication, destroyed the habitats this wood-working rodent created for other species. It also increased risk of lowland flooding, by speeding up water flow from higher locations. It's currently estimated that there are circa 500 'wild' beavers on English rivers. These are, of course, largely the result of illegal releases. The UK government has finally approved giving licences to some nature groups to release beavers into English waters. Compensation will be offered to farmers who feel their lands have been damaged by releases (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/28/beavers-released-english-waterways-government-licence). One might regard this as being simply fait accompli but licencing is a good move. Beavers are need in appropriate locations. Guerilla releases can be haphazard. There might be minimal or no checks that released beavers are not carrying disease agents. Impacts of releases are not properly evaluated. Safeguards against beavers migrating to inappropriate areas are not put in place. Licences, should make the process of restoring our beaver's free bioservice safer and more equitable.