A CONTROVERSIAL decision on a proposal to release beavers into a Scottish glen has been delayed amid concerns from the local community.
In January, public body Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) applied for a licence to release beavers in Glen Affric, a large area of thickly wooded hillsides south of Inverness which includes fragments of the ancient Caledonian Forest.
Beavers were reintroduced in Scotland in 2009, after dying out around 400 years ago. Releases have already taken place in Knapdale in Argyll and parts of the Cairngorm National Park.
It was initially hoped that beavers could be released into Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin in the spring if the licence was granted by Scottish Government agency NatureScot, yet the decision has now been delayed.
On Wednesday, FLS said a decision on its application was to be delayed until "after the summer" amid concerns from the local community.
A two-year consultation with local communities and land managers had taken place in collaboration with project partners Trees for Life, yet FLS said there remains "considerable concern" among the farming, crofting and fisheries communities.
Chris Donald, NatureScot’s head of operations for Central Highland, said: “We recognise the significant efforts that have been made by FLS, Trees for Life and partners to consult with local communities and stakeholders.
“It is clear, however, that there remains considerable concern about the proposal among the local community and its representatives.
Euan Wiseman, north region planning manager at FLS, said: “The delay to application decision is disappointing but we can appreciate NatureScot’s position.
“The extensive consultation process that was carried out in partnership with Trees for Life, allowed everyone in the community to have their say.
“We listened to the viewpoints of those who did and did not want to participate in the consultation process and incorporated them into our application.
“The consultation process and other inputs helped us to identify where the majority opinion lay and also helped us to develop appropriate and adequate mitigations to address the concerns raised by those who were not in favour of beaver reintroductions.”
However, the delay has been met with backlash from project partners Trees for Life, who accused NatureScot of having a "mystifying lack of backbone".
Steve Micklewright, CEO of Trees for Life said: “This is an astonishing move by NatureScot. After two years of exhaustive consultations that far exceeded the requirements set out by NatureScot and that they have described as exemplary, one has to ask, what more is there to consult on?
“NatureScot’s mystifying lack of backbone in the face of the nature and climate emergencies betrays so many people in the community who have engaged with this process in good faith and want the hope and renewal beavers would bring.
“Scotland can’t afford its national nature agency to be failing to deliver on its remit on biodiversity in this way. NatureScot needs to be worthy of its name.
“Very senior NatureScot managers were endorsing our gold standard approach to public consultation even after the licence application was submitted, so the fear is agency bosses have succumbed to pressure from outside forces. NatureScot should do the right thing and provide full, transparent answers to explain its inconsistent behaviour.”
