SCOTLAND’S beaver population will be expanded to new areas of the country to help boost numbers of the animals after the Scottish Government announced its support for the plan.
Ministers said they will support translocation, which involves safely trapping and moving beavers to a more suitable area, which will help establish the animals’ presence outside their current range.
The announcement delivers a commitment made in the co-operation agreement between the Scottish Green Party and the SNP.
The Scottish Greens welcomed the move, which they said means beavers will be translocated within Scotland rather than killed.
Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater, of the Scottish Greens, said: “Beavers were driven to extinction in Scotland but have now become an established part of our environment in some areas following their reintroduction, and today’s announcement will help them to continue to expand across the country.
“Restoring this lost species is important in its own right, but beavers will also contribute to restoring Scotland’s natural environment as they create wetland habitats that support a range of species, and their dams can also
help filter sediment from watercourses and mitigate flooding,” Slater added.
“The Scottish Government recognises that through their modification of the environment, in some places beavers can produce negative impacts on some species, on agricultural land, forestry and on infrastructure.
“Since they were made a protected species in 2019, we have gained sufficient experience in managing beavers in Scotland to allow us to confidently support proactive steps to expand their population.
“We will continue to provide support and advice to land managers to mitigate any negative impacts, and the additional option of trapping and translocation will further enhance this package of support.”
Recent NatureScot figures estimate that the beaver population in Scotland was between 602 and 1381 animals, with a rough median estimate of 954 beavers across 254 territories, mainly in the Forth and Tay catchment areas. Working with NatureScot and other partners, the Scottish Government will look for future beaver translocation release sites to include new areas of Scotland, to help increase beaver numbers.
Francesca Osowska, NatureScot’s chief executive, said: “This is a significant step to restore Scotland’s biodiversity and respond to the climate emergency.
“Up to now, our ability to move, or translocate, beavers to different areas across Scotland has been limited to moving animals within their current range where populations are already established.
“Being able to move beavers out of their current range gives us a much wider scope.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here