Beavers to be released into wild in bid to stop flooding

It’s the first time in centuries that the creatures will be released in England. The Government has approved the release of beavers into the English wild in hopes of cutting down on flooding risks and restoring nature. A licensing system has been introduced to allow the reintroduction of the semi-aquatic animals, whose dams, canals, and ponds enhance wildlife and offer protection against floods and droughts.

The first wild reintroduction is anticipated shortly. Support is also being extended to landowners and farmers who accommodate beavers on their land, alongside a long-term strategy for managing the creatures creatures in the wild. Beavers, vital for shaping their environments, disappeared from Britain over four centuries ago due to hunting.

They have since reappeared in England's rivers through escapes and illegal releases and were legally protected in 2022. Conservationists have long advocated for licensed wild reintroductions to enrich the UK's biodiversity and benefit communities. Evidence from a five-year trial on the River Otter in Devon demonstrates that beaver-created habitats support diverse wildlife, including water voles and dragonflies.

They also slow the flow of water, reducing the risk of flooding downstream, and can store water in the landscape during drought, as well as purifying polluted river systems, removing sediment and storing carbon. But there have been concerns about the impact of beavers flooding roads, properties and farmland, with National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw calling for farmers to be allowed to use “lethal control” of the animals if they “end up in the wrong place”.

The Environment Department (Defra) said the return of beavers would be carefully managed to avoid impacts on food production and infrastructure. Well-managed beaver releases would be allowed at a “measured pace”, in high-benefit, low-risk projects, where communities are helped to adapt to living with beavers.

Projects will need to have a 10-year plan in place to support the return of beavers into a landscape, officials said. The approach allows for dealing with negative impacts, from removing newly built dams to, “as a last resort”, trapping and relocating or lethally controlling the animals under licence.

There is also funding under agri-environment schemes for protecting trees and crops, making space for beavers along rivers and creating habitat. Defra also confirmed that all existing wild beaver populations, found in areas such as Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset and Kent, will be allowed to remain and expand naturally – in addition to the River Otter beavers who were given the right to stay in their south Devon home in 2020.

These wild populations will continue to be managed “proactively” by their local beaver management groups, officials said. Nature Minister Mary Creagh said: “Beavers are cherished creatures who bring so many benefits for people and our precious natural environment.

“Reintroducing beavers to the wild is a critical milestone for this Government’s plan to protect and restore our natural world.”. Natural England’s chairman Tony Juniper said: “This announcement is a very significant step in the long road for nature’s recovery in England, because of the real benefits that beavers create in the habitats they occupy and shape.”.

Beavers are described as “ecosystem engineers”, he said, due to their impact on the water system, which creates habitats for water voles, water shrews, birds such as snipe and herons and a vast array of insects. The first new release of wild beavers is expected to take place in Purbeck Heaths, a protected landscape spanning more than 8,000 acres which was designated as the UK’s first “super” nature reserve in 2020, under a licence granted to the National Trust.

The trust’s director general, Hilary McGrady, described the announcement as “fantastic news”. “Beavers are unparalleled in their ability to restore landscapes, create wetlands that manage flood risk, improve our water quality, and bring back wildlife,” she added.

The NFU’s deputy president, David Exwood, said that in the right location beavers could provide “certain benefits”, but raised concerns about beavers causing flooded fields, feeding on crops such as maize and felling trees including cricket bat willows, and the costs of managing them.

“The Government must put in place a longer-term vision and management plan for beavers, before any further wild releases are considered,” he urged. Applicants for further wild release licences will need to first submit an expression of interest to Natural England, with the deadline for the first round of applications on May 2 2025.