Wild beaver returns welcomed by Shrewsbury MP and Shropshire Wildlife Trust
Shropshire Wildlife Trust has been joined by a county MP in welcoming the return into the countryside and urban nature reserves of wild beavers - both nationally and locally.
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Both the trust and the Shrewsbury Labour MP Julia Buckley have described the move as exciting.
The Government’s decision, announced today (March 1), to open the door for licenced reintroductions of beavers into the wild – and its acknowledgment of the free-living populations of the creature in several parts of England – is being celebrated by wildlife experts.
“This is fantastically good news,” said Mrs Buckley, who yesterday enjoyed visiting Shrewsbury’s own beaver reintroduction project at the 'old riverbed’ Site of Special Scientific Interest in the north of the town.
“Our very own project here in Shrewsbury saw beavers reintroduced just a few weeks ago. These much-loved but secretive herbivores are helping the ecosystem, becoming a living, breathing management tool in the wetlands. These are amazing creatures that restore habitat and improve water quality. Ours, by the way, is the only urban scheme outside of London. It’s so exciting.”
Shrewsbury Town Council and Shropshire Wildlife Trust have been working in partnership on the local scheme, culminating in two Eurasian beavers being released at the nature reserve off Ellesmere Road in early February.
This week’s government announcement that applications to return beavers into river catchments in England will be accepted has been hailed as welcome news by Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
Richard Grindle, CEO at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are delighted to hear that the Government has decided to allow the release of beavers back into the wild. Beavers are nature’s ‘ecosystem engineers’ and returning them to their rightful place in the landscape will bring multiple benefits: restoring habitats, improving water quality, and helping to reduce flood risk. We recognise that some land managers may have concerns about the impact on farming, but we are confident that this can be managed.”
And Tom Freeland, head of nature reserves at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are very excited about the potential for wild release of beavers, having recently welcomed a pair back to Shropshire for the first time in centuries.”
