The government has opened the door for licenced reintroductions of beavers into several parts of England, despite farmer concern over the move.
Applications to return beavers into river catchments in England will be accepted this spring, the government said today (28 February).
This will pave the way for the species to roam wild in British rivers and lakes, with an aim to create wetlands and increase biodiversity.
Beavers became extinct in the United Kingdom during the 16th century due to hunting for their fur and meat.
Applications for further wild release licences will first need to submit an ‘expression of interest’ to Natural England.
The deadline for the first round of applications is 2 May 2025, with further application windows due to open in due course.
Farming groups have frequently warned that farmland could be destroyed by beavers burrowing or dam building on or near productive land.
Beaver activity could also undermine riverbanks and impede farmland drainage, the industry has said in the past, making fields too waterlogged for cropping or grazing.
Earlier this week, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said farmers and landowners should be able to lethally control beavers.
He said: "You’ve got to have the final control method in place. If beavers end up in the wrong place, then that lethal control has to be part of being able to have that species reintroduced more widely.”
The government said new wild release projects would need to have a project plan in place covering a 10-year period.
This would need to support the introduction of beavers into a landscape before Natural England could consider granting a licence.
Wildlife Trusts, an environmental charity, said that the species release into river catchments across England was 'long overdue'.
"Beavers are nature’s aquatic engineers and a force of nature," said Pete Burgess, director of nature recovery at Devon Wildlife Trust.
"They have unrivalled capacity to breathe new life into our threatened rivers and wetlands."
Devon Wildlife Trust led the five-year beaver trial to assess the impacts of beavers that were reintroduced under licence into the River Otter.
It concluded that beavers reduced flooding in local settlements and the habitat they created increased biodiversity, as well as the size of local fish.
The trial also explored how the government could work with local farmers and landowners to mitigate any localised issues.
