Release the beavers - green light for wild releases as pair settle into new Shrewsbury home

A long-awaited licensing system has been launched for releasing beavers – whose dams, canals and ponds boost wildlife and protect against floods and droughts – into the countryside, with the first wild reintroduction expected soon.

The Government is also setting out support for landowners and farmers who make space for the animals on their land, and says it will develop a long-term plan for managing the semi-aquatic animals in the wild.

It comes after two beavers were welcomed to Shropshire earlier this month.

The pair of Eurasian beavers were released at a nature reserve in the centre of Shrewsbury as part of a trial to look at their impact on the wetland site.

That project, a partnership between Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Shrewsbury Town Council, is one of a few urban releases in England, and is intended to see how the beavers manage and restore the wetland habitat on the 8.5 hectare site.

The Shrewsbury pair, who were relocated from Scotland have been acclimatising to their new home at Old River Bed nature reserve since being released on February 7.

 The Old River Bed, owned by Shrewsbury Town Council, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that is protected for the wetland plants found there.

The habitat is under threat from fast-growing trees such as willow, with concerns they would eventually dry out the site.

The council said traditional methods used to manage the site, such as tree removal and livestock grazing, were no longer sustainable, and that the  beavers will help to control the growth of the trees, reducing the impact on the sensitive wetland habitat while improving the water quality for other wildlife.

The release took place under licence by Natural England.

Speaking when the release took place Tom Freeland, head of nature reserves at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, said: "We look forward to highlighting the benefits of this keystone species to our neighbours in Greenfields and Mount Pleasant, and right across Shropshire.

"Alongside the improvements to the site’s habitat, a release into a secure area in Shrewsbury will build understanding and confidence around reintroducing beavers, and help to inform any future release projects in Shropshire and urban sites across Britain.”

Beavers, a “keystone species” who shape their natural environment, vanished from Britain more than 400 years ago as a result of hunting for their pelts, meat and glands.

They have made their way back to England’s rivers, through escapes from enclosures and illegal releases, and were given legal protection in 2022.

They have also been introduced to a large number of fenced wetland and river sites.

But conservationists have long called for licensed wild returns to the wider English countryside, to boost wildlife in the UK – considered one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth – and deliver benefits to people.

Evidence, including from a five-year trial of beavers living wild on the River Otter in Devon, shows the dams, ponds and wetlands they create boost a host of other wildlife, from threatened water voles to 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.

“This is the massive multiplier effect that comes from the reintroduction of these animals, which have been missing for 400 years.

“Putting them back, we’ll be able to put back lots of more wildlife besides,” he said.

New release schemes would be required to establish and implement strong management plans to maximise benefits while minimising or avoiding unwanted impacts, he added.

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”, and said the licensing process would lead to well-chosen sites, minimise disruption to other landowners and ensure local communities were fully consulted and involved in releases.

“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.

He also called for agricultural impact assessments for wild release projects.

Rob Stoneman, from The Wildlife Trusts – which have long advocated for wild reintroductions – said the beavers would provide benefits at “almost no cost to society”.

But sufficient advice, support and funding were needed for landowners to help them manage the changes the animals would bring, he said.

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.