Five-year beaver reintroduction trial successfully completed
|
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 6TH AUGUST, 00:01 Five-year beaver
reintroduction trial on the River Otter in Devon has successfully
completed Defra to consult on the management of beavers in the wild
and national approach for any further releases later this year
Trial has bought a wealth of benefits to the local area and ecology
The government has today hailed the success of a five-year beaver
trial on the River Otter in Devon, recognising its benefits to the
local area...Request free trial
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 6TH AUGUST,
00:01
The government has today hailed the success of
a five-year beaver trial on the River Otter in Devon, recognising
its benefits to the local area and ecology.
First licensed for release into the River
Otter by the Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) in 2015, two family
groups of beavers have now successfully bred and dispersed
throughout the catchment with up to 15 territories and 28
dams.
The five-year trial has bought a wealth of
benefits to the local area and ecology, including enhancing the
environment at a local wildlife site, creating wetland habitat,
and reducing flood risk for housing downstream.
They will now be allowed to remain there
permanently and continue to expand their range naturally, finding
new areas to settle as they need.
Today’s confirmation of the successful
completion of the trial follows assessment by Natural England and
consideration by Ministers of a recent report undertaken by the University of Exeter and partners
on a five-year study into the impact of beavers
into the wild in England.
On a visit to the project, Environment
Minister, Rebecca
Pow said:
“Thanks to the hard work of the Devon Wildlife
Trust and their partners, the River Otter beavers reintroduction
trial has proven highly successful - improving biodiversity and
water quality, mitigating flooding and making the local landscape
more resilient to climate change.
“We are firmly committed to providing
opportunities to reintroduce formerly native species, such as
beavers, where the benefits for the environment, people and the
economy are clear. But we also understand that there are
implications for landowners, and take care to ensure that all
potential impacts are carefully considered, and today we can
confirm a new government consultation on our national approach
and management will open later this year.”
The five-year trial run by the DWT and
licensed by Natural England ends on the 31 August 2020. Later
this year, the government will consult on a strategy for the
management of beavers in the wild and the national approach for
any further releases. In light of this, Natural England will not
be licensing any further releases in the wild until after the
formal consultation has completed and consideration given to the
responses.
Natural England will be engaging with key
stakeholders regarding the management of beaver over the coming
months to inform this approach.
Natural England Chair Tony Juniper
said:
“The River Otter trail has been a brilliant
success, thanks to the professionalism and dedication of the team
at Devon Wildlife Trust and Natural England scientists who have
worked with them.
“This work, carried out under a licence issued
by Natural England, has confirmed the positive transformations
that these animals can create, including the benefits they
provide for many other species, such as fish, improving water
quality and smoothing flood peaks. Reintroductions of iconic
species like the beaver will be an important part of the Nature
Recovery Network. We now look forward to working towards the next
stages of management of beaver more widely across
England.”
Peter Burgess, Director of Conservation
at Devon Wildlife Trust, said:
“This is the most ground-breaking government
decision for England’s wildlife for a generation. Beavers are
nature’s engineers and have the unrivalled ability to breathe new
life into our rivers. Their benefits will be felt throughout our
countryside, by wildlife and people.
“At Devon Wildlife Trust we’ve worked hard
with our partners and local communities along the River Otter
over the past five years to see what impact beavers have had. In
that time their population has grown steadily so that they have
successfully colonised nearly all of the river’s catchment. As
their numbers have grown so has local people’s awareness and
appreciation of them. We’re delighted that these beavers have now
been given leave to stay permanently.”
As outlined in our 25 Year
Environment Plan, the government is committed to
providing opportunities for the reintroduction of formerly native
species, such as beavers, where there are clear benefits, as part
of wider efforts to leave the environment in a better state for
generations to come.
The government is developing a new
Environmental Land Management scheme which will help to deliver
the wildlife goals in our 25 Year Environment Plan. This scheme
will reward farmers and land managers for delivering
environmental measures, including the provision of
habitats.
Notes to editors:
|
