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In May this year, NatureScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage) announced that they had licensed the lethal control of 87 beavers on Tayside. Staggeringly, this is more than a fifth of the known population there. At the same time, only 15 beavers were live trapped and moved to other reintroduction projects in Argyll and England. The members of the recently formed Scottish Rewilding Alliance1 were so shocked by these numbers that they decided to provide a clear message to government by starting a petition to the Scottish Parliament. Specifically, we called on the Scottish Parliament to:
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance is not constituted in a form that lends itself to the petitioning process, so our CEO, Steve Micklewright, stepped into the role of main petitioner on behalf of Trees for Life. After an online campaign with other members of the SRA, the petition had been signed by close to 17,000 people, the most signatures gathered by any Scottish Parliament petition for at least 12 years.
The petition was heard by the Public Petitions Committee on the 1st October, and the matter was immediately referred onto the Parliament’s Environment Committee for further scrutiny. A quick win for the petition.
So, why should Scotland move beavers instead of killing them? Beavers are a protected species in Scotland and they are recognised around the world2 as a keystone species which deliver benefits for a range of other species, not least human beings. They can kickstart biodiversity in freshwater areas, reduce flooding and improve water quality. Whilst it is also true that beavers can damage crops on the Tay catchment’s low lying floodplains, killing them need only ever be a last resort while there is scope to relocate their benefits to other, much less sensitive, catchments. In recent decades, every other European country that has reintroduced beavers has taken this approach if land use conflicts have arisen.
Beavers have been successfully live-trapped and released within Scotland on many occasions in recent years, most notably with the reintroduction of beavers to Knapdale in Argyll in 2009. The majority of the ground in the lower Tay catchment would lend itself to trapping and NatureScot have identified very significant areas of habitat suitable for beaver’s right across Scotland3. Moreover, we know from our own experience4 that constructive discussions about whether or not to introduce beavers to a river system are very possible with local communities. In short, trapping and releasing beavers has been done before and can be done again.
For the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, the obstacle to a more sensible approach is a political one. The Scottish Government was undoubtedly presented with a conundrum when beavers either escaped to, or were illegally released in, the Tay system. This unplanned population created an acute problem when animals found their way to the lower part of the catchment where they flood areas of high value arable land.
Caught between understandably aggrieved farmers on the one hand and passionate conservationists on the other, the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment slowly brokered a compromise. In 2018, she announced that the Tay beavers could stay, but they would only be allowed to expand their range naturally. Humans moving them to new areas would not be allowed. This dramatically cuts the options for translocating beavers within Scotland. On the current map of the Scottish beaver range, there is very little room left for translocation within Scotland. Bizarrely, however, it is permissible to trap beavers for translocation to reintroduction projects in England.
Scotland’s First Minister has recognised that we are facing a biodiversity crisis. We have a small population of a keystone species in need of new habitat to avoid conflict. We have an abundance of alternative habitat available and we can relocate beavers to those areas. The ecological benefits are significant and there is an associated boost to wildlife tourism. And yet, a government agency is licensing the lethal control of beavers on Tayside without first exploring the potential to translocate them. That these licenses are issued with no limit on the number of beavers that can be shot has allowed over a fifth of the population to be killed. Let us hope that the Environment Committee can recognise this pointless waste of nature and initiate a much smarter, more thoughtful approach.
1. The Scottish Rewilding Alliance
2. Beavers recognised around the world
3. Suitable beaver habitat
4. Trees for Life – why can’t we talk about beavers