NFUS slams plan to scale-up beaver release

Plans to scale-up the reintroduction of beavers in Scotland has sparked an angry response from farmers who are concerned about damage to crops and land.

Estimates suggest the number of beavers in Scotland has risen to 1,000 since a reintroduction programme began in 2009.

Although the Scottish government agency NatureScot has admitted beavers have escaped controlled rewilding sites and multiplied, it is pressing on with plans to expand the release area.

See also: Liz Truss promises to slash red tape in agriculture

The agency said it had identified more than 100,000ha as potential new release sites across Scotland.

In a statement, NatureScot said beavers benefited ecosystems by creating wetland habitats and alleviating downstream flooding.

However, it acknowledged concerns that upstream farmland could suffer from flooding and has suggested culling licences may be needed to control populations.

Scores of beavers have already been culled under licence to curb numbers in problem areas.

In addition to culling, the agency and the Scottish government have agreed plans to trap and remove beavers that cause damage.

The proposed 100,000ha of new sites would be used to take some of the beavers from problem areas to alleviate pressure on farming.

An incentive scheme for farmers with the rodents on their land has also been proposed.

Damage threat

But NFU Scotland (NFUS) president Martin Kennedy told The Sunday Times newspaper that farmers were angry and concerned at the proposed expansion.

Mr Kennedy said that farmers north of the border saw beaver damage as more of a threat to their livelihoods than Brexit.

He added that evidence of serious damage caused by beavers was emerging from discussions held with union members.

One farmer lost £25,000 worth of a vegetable crop after land was flooded by beaver dams, Mr Kennedy said.

Another grower had spent up to £4,000/year removing dams legally after losing wheat crops to flooding caused by beavers.

“[Beaver introduction] eliminates the possibility of growing high-value crops at a time when food security is so high on the agenda,” Mr Kennedy told the newspaper.

He also said that horse riders were being forced to abandon routes where trees felled by beavers had left dangerous, jutting spikes alongside bridle paths.

There are an awful lot of unintended consequences and a lot of big, old trees now dead, which is really sad, he added.

War of words

However, Christopher Price, chief executive at the Rare Breeds Survivals Trust, took to Twitter to call for all sides to work more closely together and devise a better-managed approach that would encourage biodiversity. 

Mr Price said the NFUS president’s comments demonstrated a knee-jerk scepticism towards biodiversity initiatives. 

“This over-the-top language doesn’t help achieve the twin goals of improving the environment and sustaining food production,” he said. 

Instead, Mr Price suggested that the union should adopt a more positive approach, which could give farmers more influence with bodies such as NatureScot and, ultimately, help to devise a rewilding programme that worked for everyone. 

There is a polarisation in arguments between farmers and lobby groups that needs to be overcome quickly as we transition towards a different support scheme, Mr Price said. 

Future payment schemes are gearing up to pay for diversity.

The continued war of words between farming unions and environmental groups was, therefore, counterproductive for everyone involved and needed to change, he said.