Coalition is calling for reintroduction of beavers
A COALITION of more than 20 environmental organisations has written to the Scottish Government calling for the beaver to be reintroduced and officially recognised as a resident, native species in Scotland.
The group, which represents over a quarter of a million members, see beavers as a missing element in Scottish biodiversity, believing it is both ecologically and morally r ight to restore this keystone species.
It claims the majority of Scotland’s people are ready and willing to live alongside beavers once a g ain and that t his strengthens Scotland’s reputation as a modern society that truly values its environment.
Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland about 400 years ago, and the UK is currently one of only seven European countries with no officially-sanctioned wild beaver population. But in a scientific trial a group of 16 were introduced into lochs in Knapdale Forest in Argyll between 2009 and 2011, and monitored by scientists. While several died, others bred successfully and produced a litter of kits within a year of being set free.
In addition a population of beavers, now around 150 strong, has been growing in the wild in Tayside since at least 2006. Thought to originate from escapes or illegal releases from private collections, they have been found in rivers and lochs stretching from Kinloch Rannoch to Perth. The conservation coalition includes Friends of the Earth Scotland, Froglife, John Muir Trust, National Trust for Scotland, Plantlife Scotland, Ramblers Scotland, Reforesting Scotland, and the RSPB. They have now written to Aileen McLeod, minister for environment, climate change and land reform, saying the beaver’s time has come in Scotland. Lindsay Mackinlay from National Trust for Scotland, said there was “a very strong case for seeing the return of free-living beavers”.