Conservationists warn against illegal release of beavers in English rivers | Wildlife

Environmentalists warn that “beaver bombing” – the secret release of beavers into rural areas – is on the rise in England because successive governments have failed to keep their promises to authorise the release of some planned animals into the wild.

Beavers now live freely in river systems across much of southern England, and conservationists are calling on the Labour Party to allow the official release of wild beavers and to develop a national strategy to maximise the benefits of these industrious mammals for biodiversity and flood protection.

Eva Bishop of the Beaver Trust said: “Beavers are a native species with a lot to offer when it comes to landscape resilience, promoting biodiversity and adapting to and mitigating climate change. It would be madness not to see reintroduction as an important tool for government.”

Bishop said the failure of recent Conservative governments to authorise or reject wild releases, or to signal clearly what funding would be required, has led to unauthorised releases, which could undermine the 69% public support for wild releases.

Numerous scientific studies in the UK have shown that beavers can help restore water quality and biodiversity in wetlands and alleviate droughts and floods.

Beavers are increasing in number in Scotland, and since they were officially recognised as native mammals again in 2022, they have been protected by law in England. Animals unofficially released into the River Otter in Devon in the early 2000s successfully reproduced and spread, but recent governments have backtracked on a promise made by Boris Johnson's government to allow the release of wild beavers in certain locations.

Although there are no official releases, beavers have appeared in the river systems of Devon and have spread through Somerset to Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. An established population has lived freely and largely unnoticed in lowland Kent for years and now covers 51 territories – more than 200 animals.

There are also more than 30 large fenced enclosures where beavers have been reintroduced in England as part of official programs. Conservationists say these populations will soon outgrow the enclosures, raising welfare concerns as territorial beavers will fight to the death.

Bishop said: “It is in everyone's interest – landowners and farmers as well as conservationists – to achieve a clear policy now. One potential consequence of inaction is an increasing number of unauthorised releases, which could anger stakeholders and jeopardise the success of future releases.

“It's really important that releases are done responsibly, with permission and according to a strategy – then we can maximize the benefits that beavers bring through their dams and the modification of their habitat.”

Three applications to reintroduce wild beavers – in Cornwall, Dorset and the Isle of Wight – are well advanced, but the application process is so complex that a preliminary assessment of the impacts of reintroducing beavers to the Isle of Wight runs to 100,000 words.

Debbie Tann, chief executive of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said: “We have beavers living quite happily and peacefully in the wild. [across southern England] and yet, to get a permit to release a native animal into its natural habitat, we have to fill out this 100,000-word application to assess the impact on every single aspect of the whole.”

The trust has been working on an application to release wild beavers onto the island since 2019. Tann said: “The science has very well documented how important they are, how they help revitalise rivers, promote biodiversity and minimise flooding. We hope the new government will honour previous commitments and open up the application process so we can just get on with it.”

She added: “This is not about beavers per se. It's about restoring ecosystem function and resilience in terms of drought and flood management, biodiversity recovery and soil health. This ticks a lot of different boxes and there are also benefits for tourism and we can get the public excited about this idea of ​​restoring nature.”

Environment Minister Steve Reed has proposed in a letter to conservationists that applications for wild beavers at specific sites be reviewed. Conservationists hope the approval could become a showcase for nature restoration in the government's first months.

Tann said: “This could prove very positive for your first 100 days in government. The statistics are there, the evidence is there, we know how to deal with the beavers in the unlikely event that they cause problems and the public support for them is huge.”

The extent of future releases will depend on how long the government will have to fund each release project itself. Crucially, it is still unclear whether the central government will provide money for future beaver management.

If beaver dams cause occasional flooding on valuable farmland, hidden pipes called “beaver deceivers” may need to be installed to direct water through the dams, or the beavers may need to be relocated.

There is widespread concern among farmers and landowners that beavers, if released into lowland rivers around low-lying areas, could cause unwanted flooding. However, the wild beaver population in lowland Kent do not build dams because the waterways are deep enough to make them feel safe.

Derek Gow of the Keep It Wild Trust, an expert in breeding animals in captivity for release into the wild, said: “The beaver is the earth’s natural healer, but its release into the wild has been hampered by [former environment secretary] Thérèse Coffey and the National Farmers' Union. There's no reason why we shouldn't do that now. I don't know if Labour is on board, they haven't made any statements about what they're going to do to restore nature, other than windy ones.”

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Agriculture said: “This government supports the reintroduction of species where there are clear benefits to nature, people and the environment.”