Beavers have been legally released for the first time into England’s rivers. Conservationists are celebrating, as they say the large rodents will help heal broken ecosystems and bring wildlife back to wetland habitats.
When did beavers last live wild in the UK at scale and why did they become extinct?
The Eurasian beaver is native to Britain and was once widespread, helping to shape the country’s wetland landscapes from prehistoric times. About 400 years ago, it was hunted to extinction. The beavers’ pelts, meat and an oil they secrete were valuable at the time, so people killed them for profit.
When did they first return?
Beavers were spotted on the River Tay in Scotland in the early 2000s, thought to have been illegally released. In 2009, a study was set up to measure their impact on the landscape and, due to positive results, the beavers were allowed to stay. Since 2021, the Scottish government has formally allowed the movement and release of beavers around Scotland, where the beaver population is now estimated at 1,500.
In England, beavers were illegally released on the River Otter in Devon in 2008, provoking a debate about whether to capture them or let them stay. The beavers were studied between 2015 and 2020, and were found to have a positive impact. They were allowed to stay and since then the government watchdog, Natural England, has been working on plans to allow the wild release of beavers across England. In the intervening period, there have been numerous illegal releases, mostly in the south. There are thought to be about 500 beavers currently living wild in England. Releasing beavers without a licence is still illegal, not advised by Natural England or other conservation groups, and can land offenders in prison for up to six months.
Why do conservationists want beavers back?
Beavers are known as a “keystone species” because they help create diverse ecosystems that support a wide range of other creatures, such as otters, water shrews, water voles, birds, dragonflies and fish. This is because they build lakes, ponds, tarns, leaky dams and other boggy places, which slow the flow of rivers and create wetland areas of different depths and streams of different speeds – perfect habitats for a variety of animals and plants. Studies have found beavers help to boost fish and insect numbers, and birds thrive too as there are more bugs for them to eat. The leaky dams they create also filter the water, removing pollution. And wetlands help to sequester carbon, essential in tackling the climate crisis.
Are there any other good reasons for beavers to return?
Beavers also manage water very well. As climate breakdown intensifies, England is likely to experience more floods and more droughts. Beavers can help. Their pools and wetland systems retain water, rather than letting it flow out to sea. This means that during a drought the soil is wetter and more fertile, and there is water in pools to be pumped out for use. They also slow the flow of rivers, by widening them and creating leaky dams that allow water to flow more gradually through the system. This stops water rushing down to towns and villages, flooding them.
Who doesn’t want beavers back?
Some farmers and landowners fear the return of the beaver because they are worried the rodents might flood their fields, damaging valuable farmland. The government is putting measures in place to allow the removal of new beaver dams in sensitive areas. In mainland Europe, where the species is widespread after a century of successful reintroductions in countries including Germany and Poland, the beavers involved are then placed somewhere more appropriate.
Some fishers are concerned that beaver dams could stop the migration of fish. However, beavers evolved alongside salmon, which easily pass through the dams. Beavers also create shallow gravel-lined streams of fast-flowing water, which are perfect for fish breeding. Others have expressed concern that beavers might eat fish such as salmon and trout. Though the beavers in CS Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia did indeed enjoy eating fish, in real life they are strictly vegan.
What happens next?
Charities and individuals will apply to Natural England for licences to release beavers. The Wildlife Trusts have plans ready to go in the south-west, but there are people all over the country who have animals in enclosures and will want permission to tear the fences down. The Knepp project in Sussex hopes to release its four kits into the wild, for example. Once licences are granted, we will start to see beavers being released across the country and they will slowly recolonise England’s rivers.
Rewilders may then set their sights on the return of other long-lost species, such as sea eagles, wildcats, wild boar, lynx and perhaps even wolves.
