The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (Defra) has published a policy paper on the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver to Great Britain.
Once native to Great Britain, beavers were hunted into extinction in the early part of the 16th century.
Defra has directed Natural England to begin assessing applications for licenses to release beavers into the wild.
The policy includes details of the new wild release licensing criteria; how existing populations will be managed, including the support available to landowners and farmers; and a commitment to consult with stakeholders on the long-term management plan for beavers in England.
Natural England has said that it believes the successful reintroduction of beavers will play a vital role in restoring rivers and wetlands, addressing the nature crisis and contributing to the delivery of national biodiversity targets.
The first project to receive approval was the National Trust’s Purbeck project in Dorset.
A test project to reintroduce the animal to East Anglia has successfully reduced the impact of flooding, and drought over a five-year period, according to DEFRA.
Five years ago at Spains Halls Estate in Essex, the Environmental Agency introduced the first pair of beavers to East Anglia in over 400 years.
The beavers were given free roam across 10ac of woodland stream, and created nine dams storing an estimated three million litres of water in ponds across a quarter of the woodland.
Data revealed that the beavers built bigger dams after heavy rainfall, in turn limiting the flow of stormwater through the farm. This helps to alleviate low water levels in the summer months.
DEFRA said that it also recognises that some groups and individuals are concerned about the effects of beaver activity, such as farmers and landowners.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has said that there is currently no longer-term vision or management plan for beavers in place.
NFU deputy president David Exwood said: “The NFU recognises that, in the right location, beavers can provide certain benefits and some farmers and landowners may be interested in beaver reintroduction opportunities.
“However, we are concerned about the negative impacts beavers can have on productive farmland, as well as the management requirements, costs, and risks involved.
“Beavers can flood and waterlog fields, feed on agricultural crops like maize, as well as damage and fell trees such as cricket bat willow.”
Exwood added: “With existing legal and illegal populations of beavers expanding across England, the government must put in place a longer-term vision and management plan for beavers – before any further wild releases are considered.”
The Eurasian beaver is a protected species in the UK, and so it is a crime to kill or harm them in anyway. It is also illegal to interfere with their dam or burrow.
