Ministers urged to review protection for beavers in England

Ministers have been urged to review the protected status of beavers in England by MPs on the cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee.

Since October 2022, it has been illegal to capture, kill, injure or disturb a beaver without a licence, but farm groups have raised concerns about the animals damaging agricultural land and increasing flood risk.

Speaking at the Great Yorkshire Show this week, Sir Robert Goodwill, chairman of the committee, hit out at the government for failing to consult properly on the matter.

See also: Booming beaver population sparks farmer concerns

He said: “If a reintroduced species is to be given protected status, a risk assessment and management plan should be in place in advance of the prospective status being granted.

“We were very concerned that the beaver had been given protected status in England without that work being done in advance.

“We believe the protected status of beavers should be reviewed by the Defra Species Reintroduction Taskforce, in consultation with the stakeholder forum, to ensure proper management tools exist to deal with potential side effects.”

Sir Robert’s comments came as the committee published a report on species reintroduction more generally.

In the document, the MPs call for farmers to be compensated by government for any damage incurred as a result of species reintroduction.

During a research trip to Bavaria, the committee learned state authorities had an annual budget of €450,000 (£383,000) to compensate farmers who had lost crops to beaver damage.

But Sir Robert told Farmers Weekly they “couldn’t even estimate” what the budget would need to be for engineering solutions to protect watercourses in England.

The report did, however, note that the reintroduction of many plants, fungi and insects would “pose little to no risk” and urged ministers to create a “one-stop-shop” for those interested in facilitating this.

The hub would provide detail on species licensing requirements, any government support available, best practice guidance and opportunities for collaboration.