Calls for beaver cull to be last resort
Beaver culling in Tayside and the rest of Scotland must be a “last resort” to prevent land damage after all options have been exhausted, a court heard last week.
Rewilding charity Trees for Life launched a review claiming government body NatureScot is breaking the law by failing to make the practice a last resort.
The Court of Session in Edinburgh heard that lethal control of the species, which has been used in Tayside after animals were either illegally or accidentally released in the area, is not necessary and that capture and relocation was the best method of dealing with the protected species.
The decision will have a major impact on the semi-aquatic rodents in Perth and Kinross, as Tayside is home to the largest beaver population in Scotland.
The case was heard at the start of June, with the outcome expected later this year.
Aidan O’Neill QC, for the charity, said: “If you’re going to allow killing, it’s only when you know it won’t have an impact on the conservation of beavers.
“Where translocation of beavers elsewhere is an option, it’s not open to the respondents to authorise the killing of beavers.”
Scotland’s farming union maintains that killing beavers is necessary to prevent costly agricultural damage.
Trees for Life spokesperson Richard Bunting said the animals should be relocated to other suitable habitats in
Scotland.
He said: “Culling should be a genuine last resort and at the moment it currently isn’t a genuine last resort.”
Last year Trees for Life described the killing of 87 beavers across Scotland as “needless bloodshed”.
And the campaign group Rewilding Britain said allowing beavers to be shot
“makes a mockery of their protected status”.
A Rewilding Britain spokesperson said: “If successful, the court case would mean that when beavers need managing, they could be moved to new areas of Scotland instead of being killed to locations where they would be welcome and where they would be able to get to work creating nature-rich wetlands, which will help tackle the nature and climate crises.
“Regardless of the outcome of the case, it’s putting these important issues into the spotlight, which is hugely welcome.”
Trees for Life raised £60,000 through a public crowdfunder to cover its legal costs during the judicial review.