Nature Scot (formerly SNH) recently released its Beaver Licensing Summary for 2019. This confirmed that 87 beavers, roughly one-fifth of Scotland’s entire population, were killed under licence last year despite being a protected species. This level of lethal control is excessive and potentially threatens the ‘favourable conservation status’ and ‘genetic viability’ of the species in Scotland. It cannot be allowed to be repeated again.
Please help SWBG create a better future for Scotland’s beavers by asking the government to take the following steps:
- Lift the ban on translocating beavers from Tayside to suitable habitat outside the current range within Scotland.
- Suspend all lethal control licences until a census confirms the population is still in ‘favourable conservation status’.
- End the policy assumption that non-lethal mitigation is unsuitable for prime agricultural land.
- Permit the grant of lethal control licences only after all forms of non-lethal mitigation (including translocation) have been ruled out following a site inspection by a qualified officer.
- Review all licences annually to ensure the reasons for their issue remain valid and the conditions of each licence are being met.
- Design future farm subsidy payments to reward farmers for increased biodiversity created by beaver presence.
To find out more about why these changes are necessary read our statement in response to SNH’s recent publication.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
JOIN A CALL FOR ACTION
Scottish Wild Beaver Group is part of The Scottish Rewilding Alliance. As a member we are calling on Scotland to become the first rewilding nation. With beavers as a vital part of achieving this goal.
WRITE TO YOUR MSP’S
Contact your MSPs to let them know that you want The Scottish Government to change their approach to beaver management. Use the bullet points above to outline the changes you want to see.
REPORT A SIGHTING
Reporting sightings and evidence of beaver activity can be one of the most important and easy things you can do. With more data, and a more accurate census of beavers in Scotland, we can push for better and more secure protection. Check out the Mammal Mapper App below!