Free the beaver! A new vision for beavers in England and Wales

Free the beaver! A new vision for beavers in England and Wales

The Wildlife Trusts say: end enclosures and take action for beavers to be wild

Today, The Wildlife Trusts publish A vision for the return of beavers to England and Wales making the case for bringing back this keystone species to rivers in the two countries. Beavers are known for their hugely beneficial effects on wetlands and can play an important role in flood prevention, filtering water and boosting wildlife habitat. 

Three years since Defra’s beaver consultation opened and nearly two years since legislation officially recognised beavers as a native species in England, the UK Government has repeatedly failed to put in place the steps needed for their return. This includes the issuing of licences for beavers to be returned to the wild in England and the publishing of strategic plans to enable beavers to be reintroduced. Wales still lacks legislation to protect beavers and enable their effective management. Despite previous political indications that wild releases would be allowed, it has yet to happen.

The Wildlife Trusts’ new vision explains how releasing beavers into the wild – in preference to the fenced enclosures that are currently allowed – will enable beavers to rejoin our native ecology, providing beleaguered wetlands with a powerful natural restoration tool, bringing back life to our rivers and providing a host of benefits to society.

Rob Stoneman, director of landscape recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, says:

“The benefits of beavers are widely acknowledged and well-evidenced – but across England and Wales, the reintroduction of this keystone species has stalled. Numerous scientific studies have shown that beavers improve water quality, stabilise water flows during times of drought and flood, and give a huge boost to habitats and to other wildlife. Given the climate and nature crises, we need beavers back in the wild to give us a hand to resolve these challenges. 

“Nature needs beavers – but at the moment these extraordinary mammals are either living in enclosures where the benefits to communities are limited, or they’ve been released illegally and there are no management plans in place to support land managers. The nations’ Governments must accept that beavers are here to stay and embrace the big positives they bring so that society can reap the rewards too.” 

David Parkyn - David Parkyn/ Cornwall Wildlife Trust

To support the ambition to bring back beavers to the wild, The Wildlife Trusts call on the UK and Welsh Governments to:

· Publish an ambitious beaver reintroduction strategy

· Fund farmers and land managers in the two countries to make more space for water on their land

· Support beaver management groups

· Confirm all wild beavers can remain in England and Wales

· Recognise beavers as a native species in Wales and provide them with full legal protection

The Wildlife Trusts are committed to working with communities and authorities to support successful wild beaver releases across England and Wales. This commitment aligns with UK Government’s target to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030. The Wildlife Trusts want to work with a range of partners and stakeholders to ensure Beaver Management Groups can enable people to live in harmony alongside beavers.

Modelling work undertaken by the University of Exeter and The Wildlife Trusts will help land managers understand which areas are most suitable for beavers – this work will enable beaver groups to understand where to focus reintroduction and management efforts.

Pete Burgess, director of nature recovery at Devon Wildlife Trust, says:

“I’ve had the privilege of supporting beaver reintroduction partnerships since 2011 and witnessed first-hand the species’ unrivalled capacity to breathe life back into our rivers and wetlands. People in Devon fought hard to keep the beavers when they were first confirmed as breeding on a local river in 2014 – Devon Wildlife Trust is now at the forefront of supporting landowners, river users and communities to live alongside beavers.

“These wonderful animals have done a lot for local tourism and businesses. Through our partnership with the University of Exeter we have revealed the host of other benefits that beavers provide – such as reducing the most damaging peak flood flows and providing steady supplies of water in times of drought. Independent studies have also shown that since the start of the River Otter Beaver Trial the number of people in favour of beaver reintroduction increased to 90%.”

Professor Richard Brazier, director of the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) at the University of Exeter, says:

“The overwhelming weight of scientific evidence on the impacts of beaver reintroduction is positive. Unsurprisingly, as a keystone species that has evolved over millions of years, the beaver has adapted to create ecosystems that are resilient to droughts, floods and the wide range of ways in which humans degrade the environment. We would do well to learn from this species. Renewing our coexistence with this animal and thus enabling the beaver to modify landscapes that can again deliver multiple ecosystem services to society is an obvious and sensible thing to do.”

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Beaver vision

Read The Wildlife Trusts' vision for the return of beavers to England and Wales

Click here

Editor's notes

Legislation: England: Legislation to protect beavers in England passed on 1st October 2022. Historic day for beavers in England. Beavers are also listed as a European Protected Species. Scotland: New beaver strategy for Scotland | Scottish Wildlife Trust (2022).

Three years since Defra’s beaver consultation opened on 25th August 2021: Consultation on approach to beaver reintroduction and management in England.  See summary of responses and next steps. When Environment Secretary, George Eustice delivered a speech at a Wildlife Trust site in 2021, he indicated the Government would allow wild releases – but this has yet to happen. See Environment Secretary speech at Delamere Forest on restoring nature and building back greener.

Evidence: The Wildlife Trusts and partner organisations have built up an impressive body of independent evidence relating to beavers and their impacts. Our collaborations with the University of Exeter have generated 24 peer reviewed scientific papers. As well as research in the UK, there are further studies in continental Europe and decades of research in North America. See River otter beaver trial and  beavers in enclosures.

People’s attitudes: Surveys conducted local to the river Otter in Devon, and nationally, by University of Exeter researchers in 2017 found that 86% of 2,741 people supported beaver reintroduction. In 2019, repeat surveys found that 90% were supportive (386 people surveyed). ROBT 2020 Update.pdf

The Wildlife Trusts and beavers

The Wildlife Trusts have been at the forefront of beaver release successes for decades. We have:

· Led the first beaver enclosure and were lead partners in the only two wild releases (Knapdale and Devon)

· Built strong partnerships including with eNGOs, scientists, UK and devolved governments and their agencies, landowners, rural businesses, and fisheries organisations

· A strong presence on the ground, which gives us excellent knowledge of local conditions and links into communities.

The Wildlife Trusts are ready to play a leading role in ensuring an ambitious strategy for beaver reintroduction can be successfully delivered in partnership with all those who have a stake in the future health of our wetlands. See Beavers.

The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts are making the world wilder and helping to ensure that nature is part of everyone’s lives. We are a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 910,000 members and 35,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting and standing up for the natural world. With the support of our members, we care for and restore over 2,000 special places for nature on land and run marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year. www.wildlifetrusts.org.