Legal killing of 1-in-5 Scottish beavers spotlights need for fresh approach across Britain
The killing of 87 beavers in Scotland – one fifth of the country’s population – proves there is an urgent need for humans to live more sympathetically alongside beavers across Britain, the Beaver Trust said today.
The Trust said lethal control of the animals for agricultural reasons should only ever be a last resort, and that options such as relocating beavers to areas where they could benefit the landscape and be welcomed by local people should be considered.
The scale of the officially sanctioned lethal control of beavers in Scotland in 2019 was revealed in a report released by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) on 28 May.
James Wallace, Director of Beaver Trust said: “Reintroducing beavers to Scotland has brought tremendous benefits to local ecosystems. Occasionally their presence also creates negative impacts for agriculture, but culling one fifth of the population in a single season is no answer.
Further deaths must be reduced, and Beaver Trust is calling on landowners, farmers, the Government and conservation groups to work together urgently on simple, positive steps to prevent avoidable culling of this important animal in future.”
Chris Jones, Director of Beaver Trust, who has beavers on his farm in Cornwall, said: “While beavers’ presence in agricultural areas on floodplains can result in problems for farmers, these challenges can be successfully managed. Germany’s Bavaria is just one of many international examples of how beavers and farmers can co-exist quite successfully alongside each other.”
The Trust says that the benefits of beavers significantly outweigh any disadvantages. The animals are expert ecosystem engineers that provide a vital and natural opportunity to sustainably adapt British landscapes to cope better with increased flooding and droughts, while improving the quality of our rivers and benefiting all sorts of other wildlife.
“Beavers are hugely valuable creatures and we must recognise them as such. There is a welcome demand and enthusiasm for their presence in other parts of the UK – so surely moving them is the best option, and lethal control should be a last resort,” said Chris Jones.
“Public support for beavers across Britain is rising exponentially as projects such as the five-year River Otter Beaver Trial in Devon prove their importance to our ecosystems.
People want to see beavers back across our landscape and we need to learn fast how to co-exist with them. SNH’s report provides an important opportunity to collectively safeguard beavers and welcome their return.”
Beaver Trust is working collaboratively with non-governmental organisations, farming, fishing and forestry groups and the Government to create a simple, national strategy for restoring beavers and our rivers. See https://beavertrust.org/.
——Ends—–
[registration_form]
How to manage beaver on floodplains? Don’t destroy river margins by ripping out the trees and shrubs whose roots strengthen them. Too many farmers just do not maintain healthy river margins, but instead farm right down to the water’s edge. Whether it is crops, or livestock, there should be a four metre minimum margin out from the edge where they are excluded, and instead trees like alders should be planted instead. They are coppiceable, and being chewed by beaver actually increases root density.
Also they should stop farming on land below water level, even when protected by berms.
There are no problem beavers, but there are plenty of problem farmers.
Still, to protect beavers it is imperative that they are introduced to the central belt around the urban areas where there are limited amount of farmers and gamekeepers. Places like Hamilton with Strathclyde Loch and park, or Kilmarnock near Dean Castle Country Park, or even Kelvingrove in Glasgow itself. If beavers took hold there then they truly would have a secure future in Scotland. Obviouslyweshouldwaitforlegalendorsementofthismeasureandnot just do it.
Worth a read:
https://theferret.scot/beavers-killed-tayside-scottish-natural-heritage/
It’s an absolute scandal that any beavers have been shot. It seems we just don’t learn!
I cannot understand for one moment why they are simply not relocated to a more suitable environment.
What a scandal that shooting seems to be the farmer’s (and SNH’s?) first choice rather than trapping and relocating. I don’t know what the beaver carrying capacity for Scotland is but I imagine it has yet to be reached and there are plenty of flood prone areas of England and Wales that could make use of any that are too much for Scottish farmers to handle.
Shooting isn’t the first choice. SNH stated: “All lethal control licence holders were contacted about the possibility of trapping on their land, but live-trapping is not always possible on every site for a number of reasons, including the topography and general nature of the site and how beavers use it; and the behaviour of individual animals. Based on survey information, lethal control and trapping has taken place within around 13% of territories.”
Killing is always the first thing the farmers think of when faced with a problem, and often the only thing they think of. Remember the bad old days of “gerrorf moi larnd” and being threatened with a shotgun if you didn’t move quick enough for them? And the massive resistance from the farming community in Scotland over right to roam? Petty little lairds and tyrants, the lot of them.
We actually need thousands more beavers along with eco restoration in the uplands to reduce millions of pounds of flood damage to homes, businesses and better quality farmland in the lowlands. This is obscene not least economically. How f****** typical the Scottish Government with much fanfare gives beavers legal protection on May 1st then proceeds to give permission for a fifth of the population to be bumped off. They are not any better at protecting raptors either.
Frankly anything other than trapping, relocating or mitigating the alleged problems is/was outrageous and when SNH says trapping options were considered, obviously not enough.
Shame on. Scotland, landowners, farmers and Scottish National Heritage..what a misnomer.
How do these people sleep at night…total insanity….At least we now have the evidence …the lunatics Clearly are in charge of the asylum.
shame on their lot…disgusting..
Yes, total shame on SNH and all others concerned with this carnage. For god sake when will this country learn to live with nature. Its automatic reaction to any aspect of nature that is perceived as being in the way, is still “kill it”. There no or very little thought given as to how can we work with nature. This country still has not really left the Victorian age and it’s antediluvian thinking.
Once again, great shame on all concerned for this slaughter.