New research conducted for the Scottish Rewilding Alliance has shown that three-quarters of Scots want Scotland’s public bodies to take action on beaver reintroductions. However, government agencies are falling short on their responsibilities and have not taken significant steps to relocate beavers to new areas.
The survey, carried out by independent research agency Survation, revealed that 73% of respondents believe that public bodies should identify more sites on their land where beavers can thrive. This overwhelming support highlights the need for government bodies to listen and take action to reintroduce this important species to suitable habitats.
Kevin Cumming, the Scottish Rewilding Alliance’s Deputy Convenor and Rewilding Britain’s Rewilding Director, said, “This is overwhelming public support for bringing back beavers to suitable habitat. Government bodies that manage land on behalf of the public need to listen, and move ahead on reintroducing these key allies in tackling the nature and climate emergencies.”
Beavers are known for creating wetlands that benefit other wildlife, purify water, and reduce flooding. They also have the potential to bring economic benefits to communities through eco-tourism. Relocating beavers to suitable wild habitats from agricultural land, where they can cause problems, also benefits farmers and saves beavers from being shot. However, since 2019, an average of 88 beavers have been killed under license annually, potentially equating to 20% of their population.
Despite this, Scotland’s public bodies have only relocated five beaver families to new areas since early 2022, when the Scottish Government called on them to upscale action for returning the native species to public land. All of these relocations have taken place within Cairngorms National Park, leaving other areas of Scotland without beavers.
Cumming said, “Cairngorms National Park Authority is showing what can be done, with beavers released at several sites, and plans for more over the next five years. Our other public agencies need to play catch-up with the Cairngorms, and end their own go-slow approach to restoring this biodiversity-boosting, flood-reducing, habitat-creating species.”
The Scottish Government’s nature agency, NatureScot, has identified over 100,000 hectares of ‘beaver core woodland’ across Scotland, where beavers could establish long-term territories. However, Scotland’s government bodies manage 10% of public land between them. The Alliance is calling for bolder action from Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), the country’s biggest manager of public land. FLS manages a massive 640,000 hectares of Scotland, including many waterways known to be highly suitable for beavers. Despite being involved in a potential beaver reintroduction in Glen Affric, which was welcomed by the local community, FLS has yet to reintroduce any beavers to a site beyond their current range.
NatureScot, which issues lethal control licenses, has also failed to lead on beaver relocations to its national nature reserves.
Beavers were driven to extinction in Scotland around 400 years ago before their official reintroduction in 2016 and recognition as a protected species in 2019. Reintroducing beavers to new areas requires appropriate habitat assessments and public consultation.
Farmer Tom Bowser, from Argaty near Doune, has reintroduced several beavers to his family farm under license, saving them from culling. He said, “The beavers have only brought us benefits. Their dams, in what was once a flood-prone part of our farm, have saved us real money in annual track repairs, because we just don’t see floods there anymore.”
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance believes that relocations should be prioritized when landowners have problems, with lethal control licenses only issued as a genuine last resort. The Alliance also advocates for paying farmers for having beavers on their land.
Scotland’s Beaver Strategy, published by NatureScot in 2022 after a process involving more than 50 stakeholder organizations, aims to ensure that communities are supported to maximize the benefits of beavers and minimize negative impacts. However, the Alliance believes that achieving this goal depends on public bodies being far more proactive in restoring beavers to public land.
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance’s Rewilding Nation Charter, which can be found at www.rewild.scot/charter, calls on the Scottish Government to declare Scotland a rewilding nation and commit to nature recovery across 30% of land and sea. Since its launch this spring, the Charter has been signed by thousands of people.
Distributed by https://pressat.co.uk/
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.