‘Lethal control’ must be option if beaver releases approved, NFU boss says

Farmers must be allowed to lethally control beavers under any scheme to license their release in the wild in England, a farming leader has urged.

But conservationists have called for “simple measures” such as trapping and moving to accompany reintroductions of the semi-aquatic mammals into the wild, and for payments for farmers whose land is affected by beavers.

Beavers were hunted to extinction in Britain around 400 years ago but have made their way back to England’s rivers, through escapes from enclosures and illegal releases, and were given legal protection in 2022.

Conservationists keen to reintroduce beavers to create wetlands and river systems that boost an array of other wildlife and mitigate against drought and floods are waiting on a decision expected shortly about licensing further releases into the wild.

But National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw has warned that if licensing of beaver releases goes ahead “you’ve got to have the final control method in place”.

“If beavers end up in the wrong place, then that lethal control has to be part of being able to have that species reintroduced more widely,” he said.

Beavers are known as “ecosystem engineers” which create dams, channels and ponds that provide habitat for other wildlife, slow and store water to curb flooding and drought, store carbon and purify water and even attract “eco-tourists” who can boost the local economy.

But beaver activities can have a negative impact including beaver dams blocking fish migrations, impacts to the landscape, trees and banks, and localised flooding of roads, properties or farmland.

Conservationists say problems can be resolved, with rapid response teams, work with communities to increase understanding of beavers, and financial incentives to help land managers earn a living while working alongside the animals and wetlands.

However, Mr Bradshaw said the lethal control option needs to be available.

“Particularly if they undermine our flood defences, if they undermine some of our lowland water carriers that are so important protecting our valuable land, then you need to have those mitigations in place,” he warned.

Farmers have also raised concerns that 9% of land would be taken out of agricultural production across England under proposals in a new land use framework to boost wildlife and tackle climate change through creating new woodlands and restoring peatland and heathland habitats.

But Environment Secretary Steve Reed has told farmers at the National Farmers’ Union conference that under the land use framework “no one is going to force anyone to take anything out of agricultural production or do something else with it”.

He said: “What it will do is it will provide much better information to landowners so they can take the best decision for how they want to use that land.

“For instance, you know, I’ve had people ask me questions at events like this before about solar farms on prime agricultural land, it will help us to prevent that happening, and help us to protect prime agricultural land for food production.

“If you don’t have a system to provide guidance on the best use of particular bits of land, you have a hazard system, and that means the outcomes you get aren’t necessarily the outcomes that you want,” he said.

Rob Stoneman, director of landscape recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, said decades of evidence showed how important it was to bring back beavers.

“After being lost from Britain for nearly 400 years, we now have to learn to co-exist with these incredible animals once more,” he said.

“That will take time and in the short term simple measures can be used to resolve any issues, including trapping and moving.”

And he said reintroductions should be accompanied by a “robust management strategy” with suitable funding, while farmers should be paid by agri-environment schemes for any land lost to storing water and supported with advice to learn to live and work alongside beavers.

Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), said: “Beavers can play a huge role in land management and we should focus on the potential benefits they bring to farms rather than viewing them as a problem.”

He said beavers could support farmers by holding water in the landscape during drought, and provide cheaper flooding solutions, which farmers should be rewarded for supporting through agri-environment schemes.

“The Government must ensure beavers are responsibly reintroduced in the right places to deliver the best outcomes for both food production and nature,” he urged.