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Subject: The reintroduction of the European beaver (Castor fiber) into the wild.
Authors:Dave Thorpe/Alastair Driver

Tel No:01248 484042/01189 535563

 Access:

Open

 Created date: 19th Nov 2007

Review date:
Function expert(s):Rob Strachan

Tel No:01248 484076
Last Modified By:

Name: AD following comments by Paul Raven
Date: 1st Sept 2007
Key Words for search (3-4 words) European beaver reintroduction

Issue

  • The European beaver was formerly native across much of Europe but became extinct from mainland Britain in the 16th century.
  • There have been several years of debate in Scotland regarding reintroduction of this species and 2 recent reintroductions have occurred into fenced-off reserves in England. The subject is currently being discussed in Wales.
  • There have been no reintroductions of European beavers into the wild in the UK for at least 50 years. (NB this wil[ need updating once the Scottish re-introduction has taken place in 2009.)
  • In Europe there have been at least 157 reintroductions into the wild, the impacts of which have been well monitored. Beavers are thought to have a generally positive impact on hydrology, biodiversity and flood management and can profoundly change riparian habitat.
  • Beavers are vegetarian and their dams reduce siltation and provide refuges for fish during droughts. European Beaver dams are small and are unlikely to prevent migration of fish.
  • Localised negative impacts can occur, such as damage to crops, trees and localised flooding.
  • To date no previously extinct mammal has been successfully reintroduced to the wild in Britain, even though reintroduction of this species to the UK was recommended by the EU/Bern Convention in 1996.
  • Various individuals and groups have recently, or are proposing to, introduce the species into different parts of the UK, within large fenced-off areas. These are not re- introductions into the wild.

Our position

  • We welcome discussion of reintroduction of this ecologically valuable species.
  • Given the right conditions, the return of this formerly native mammal is likely to be of overall benefit to river and wetland wildlife.
  • Management plans would have to be agreed before any re-introductions, to prevent or control localised problems caused by the animals, such as crop damage, burrowing into river banks and small-scale flooding.
  • Problem animals would have to be live-trapped and moved or culled. This would require Natural England and Defra licensing arrangements to be in place.
  • Reintroduction must be considered with regard to potential impacts across the whole catchment ,as beavers can travel significant distances.
  • Assessment of potential impacts to protected sites would be required.
  • Appropriate quarantine and health screening would have to be carried out prior to any reintroductions.
  • The Environment Agency itself has no plans to introduce European beavers, but should be a key consultee in any plans to do so.
  • The Environment Agency would expect experimental releases to have been successfully completed, before genuine releases into the wild could take place. By "successfully" we mean sustainable breeding populations established and management plans being implemented to the satisfaction of all key stakeholders.
  • Given the absence of any successful experimental releases in the UK so far, we expect releases of European Beaver into the wild in England and Wales to be many years away.

Background

1. The Natural History of the European beaver

1.1 The European beaver Castor fiber, is the largest rodent in Europe, weighing 18 - 20kg. It is vegetarian, gnawing on the bark and shoots of trees and shrubs during the winter and herbaceous vegetation during the spring and summer. Individuals generally live for 7 - 8 years living in family groups of 3-5 individuals.

1.2 The European beaver prefers burrows in riverbanks, but it will build lodges of piled logs where burrowing is not possible. It builds fewer dams than the North American beaver, and it does so generally in shallow streams to maintain water levels above the entrance to its burrow. Dams are built of tree trunks, branches and mud, and are about one metre in height and rarely longer than fifteen metres. They are usually breached by flood waters each year, and do not normally pose any obstacle to the movements of fish such as brown trout and salmon, but may impact on spawning habitat.

1.3 The European beaver was found throughout England, Wales and Scotland, but is thought to have been hunted to extinction by the mid-sixteenth century. Wild populations have continued to exist in parts of France and Germany and are generally widespread in Scandinavia, the Baltic states and Russia.

2. European re-introductions

2.1 The EU habitats and Species Directive 1992 'encourages member states to look at the possibility of returning extinct native species as a conservation aid'. The European beaver can enhance habitat biodiversity by creating scrub similar to coppiced woodland, ponds and invertebrate rich woodpiles.

2.2 Re-introduction projects have taken place in 24 European countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. In the Netherlands 100 beavers were introduced in two localities in the 1980's and 1990's.There are now an estimated 170 wild beavers within the Netherlands. In 2003 the economic damage caused by beavers was been estimated at a mere £170.

3. Beaver Projects in the UK

3.1 In April 2003, 5 European beavers from Norway were introduced to the 50 hectare Ham Nature Reserve owned by the Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) and local farmer. The site is enclosed but at the time Defra considered a licence for release was required. As part of the licence requirements the site was monitored, bui a breeding population never established and only two females from the original group remain. In terms of habitat management however, the KWT consider the experiment to be a success.

3.2 On September 1st 2004, the Scottish Executive refused the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), proposal to release beavers in Knapdale, Argyll. The grounds for refusal were the potential impact on the natural woodland, which is designated as a Special Area for Conservation. Also the shooting of beavers, identified as a last ditch control measure, was considered illegal, since this species is protected under European law. Both SNH and SWT expressed their disappointment with the decision.

3.3 In October 2004, 6 European beavers were introduced without a licence into a 5 hectare enclosure at Lower Mill Estate in the Cotswold Water Park. Defra subsequently accepted that because the site is relatively small and enclosed and the animals are in effect "under control", a licence is not required.

4. Regulation of reintroductions

4.1 A licence is required from Defra under Section 16 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to release into a wild habitat species which are not normally present in Britain. This enables Defra to assess the potential risks associated with the proposed introduction and ensure that releases of non-native species will not have an adverse impact on the environment.

4.2 The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) is a statutory advisory committee appointed under section 124 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (the EPA). It provides advice to Government and other bodies as appropriate on releases into the environment of Great Britain of animals and plants covered by sections 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

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