Downing Street has blocked plans to release wild beavers in England because officials view it as a “Tory legacy”, the Guardian can reveal.
Natural England, the government’s nature watchdog, has drawn up a plan for reintroductions of the rodent, which until about 20 years ago had been extinct in Britain for 400 years, having been hunted for their fur, meat and scent oil. Beavers create useful habitats for wildlife and reduce flooding by breaking up waterways, slowing water flow, and creating still pools.
The reintroduction plan was signed off in recent weeks by the environment secretary, Steve Reed, who passed it to No 10. But there it was blocked by senior Downing Street officials, who were not in favour of the policy as they view it as a “Tory legacy”, sources said.
The former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson was keen on reintroducing beavers, promising in his 2021 conference speech to “build back beaver”. He also tried to get permission for his father, Stanley, to release the rodents on his Exmoor estate.
Natural England executives are furious that years of painstaking work to bring the beaver back to Britain’s rivers has been undone, the Guardian understands. Campaigners for a natural history GCSE recently said this had been blocked too because it was seen by Labour officials as a Tory idea.
Representatives of leading nature charities including the National Trust, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust and the Mammal Society have written to Reed asking him to push the policy through so beavers can be released across England.
They said: “The continued absence of a formal wild release licensing system is preventing much-needed progress in restoring this species to our landscapes and catchments, and realising their full potential as a nature-based solution.”
Rob Stoneman, the director of landscape recovery at the Wildlife Trusts, said: “The UK is suffering from a freshwater crisis – polluted rivers, floods, and the threat of drought – at the same time as experiencing the appalling effects of the nature and climate crises. These are all linked and would benefit hugely from a cheap, natural solution: beavers. It’s high time we freed the beaver and let them supercharge landscape recovery in the UK – it’s extremely frustrating that wild beaver licences have been blocked.”
Currently, after licensed and unlicensed releases, there are about 1,500 beavers in Scotland and 600-800 in England. Beavers are legally released by wildlife agencies in Scotland but it is still illegal for anyone to release them in England, where they have to be kept in pens. The plan would allow conservationists to release beavers into the wild on their land, rather than in captivity, so they could live free and repopulate England. Under the plan, licences would be granted to appropriate schemes.
A five-year government study found that illegally released beavers on the River Otter in Devon were boosting wildlife and having a positive impact on the local area, so the rodents were given permission to stay.
Prof Richard Brazier, who has conducted much of the beaver research in England, said: “From our research over the last 10 years and the wider research around beaver reintroduction globally, the overwhelming consensus on the impacts of wild-living beavers is hugely positive. It is high time that we humans recognised that we need their help and did so by launching the coherent, national-scale strategy on beaver reintroduction that is desperately needed to recover nature and build resilient ecosystems across England and Wales.”
The National Trust is pushing to be allowed to release beavers on some of its properties. Ben McCarthy, its head of nature conservation, said: “We have been in constructive discussions with Defra and Natural England about a wild release programme for several years. One such site we feel could work really well for a wild release would be some of the land we care for at Purbeck Heaths in Dorset, which is part of the 3,331 hectares (8,231 acres) “super national nature reserve”.
“Feasibility studies have shown that Little Sea, a freshwater lake surrounded by dense vegetation, is a highly suitable site for beavers, with plenty of room for them to gradually spread across the landscape, increasing biodiversity and improving waterways due to their natural behaviour of dam building and tree coppicing to help create nature-rich wetlands.”
The National Farmers’ Union has campaigned against the release of beavers, arguing they could flood fields. However, many farmers support their release and say any of the impacts could be managed such as by moving the animals away from the farm to a more appropriate area.
Martin Lines, the chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said: “There’s a lot of evidence showing the benefits [beavers] bring, and getting this right could deliver significant savings in mitigating flooding, holding water in the landscape to help farmers during drier periods of the year, and helping to tackle the challenges of climate change and nature loss.
“It’s critical that the government releases the licensing framework to ensure beavers are being reintroduced responsibly in the right places and the process is being managed to achieve the best outcomes for both nature and food production.”
A government spokesperson said: “This story is categorically untrue. The government is working with Natural England to review options on species reintroduction, including beavers.”
