When the first pair of beavers to be legally released in England crawled sleepily from their crates into the ponds of Purbeck Heath in Dorset, it seemed like a watershed moment for wildlife in the UK.
Wildlife charities rejoiced as ministers finally agreed for the nature-boosting rodents to be released, subject to licence, into the wild. Nature-friendly farmers kept an eager eye out for the application forms, hoping they could host the fascinating creatures on their land.
But nature experts say the scheme has stalled, with not a single licence granted since those beavers were let loose on the National Trust reserve in March. The Guardian understands 40 expressions of interest have been sent to the government since then, 20 of which are from the Wildlife Trusts, but none have yet been granted a release licence.
Farmers who have tried to get a licence have found the application process flummoxing, saying some require 100,000 words – longer than some PhDs – and that it requires specialist ecological knowledge that many of them do not have.
Stephen Bailey, a farmer near Sandleheath in west Hampshire, said his farm, which features a chalk stream, water meadows and copious willow, which the rodents eat, was “a perfect place for beavers”.
He therefore applied to release some. Bailey said: “As soon as I heard that wild beaver releases were going to be allowed, I applied for an expression of interest form. And the amount of stuff I had to read, I filled out the form the best I could, did my best, but of course Natural England just came back and said no.”
He said Natural England told him he could reapply if he would accommodate the entire Hampshire beaver release project, as no one else on the catchment had applied to release them. Bailey explained: “They said ‘you’re the only person on the Hampshire catchment who has applied to do the Hampshire and we need someone who will accommodate the whole thing.’ So I reapplied myself to do the whole lot. And [said] if there are any farmers who objected, they could come and see me. And I submitted it, but I haven’t heard back.”
Nature groups have been campaigning for the return of beavers into the wild. They are often referred to as “ecosystem engineers”. They make changes to their habitats, such as coppicing trees, damming smaller watercourses, and digging “beaver canal” systems. These activities create diverse and dynamic wetlands that can bring enormous benefits to other species, such as otters, water shrews, water voles, birds, invertebrates and breeding fish, as well as sequestering carbon.
They can also help farmers as the pools they dig hold water on the land, and keep the soil damper and more resilient to droughts.
The Wildlife Trusts have also struggled to get beavers released on their reserves, despite their specialist knowledge.
Craig Bennett, the CEO of the charity, said: “There is of course, a frustration, not least among the Wildlife Trusts, that sometimes doing these applications involves writing the equivalent of a PhD. I mean, literally, some of these applications are 90,000 to 100,000 words. It’s quite extraordinary.
“It’s funny, isn’t it, how there are some parts of political spectrum that go on all the time about deregulation of environmental protections we need to keep and yet, actually, sometimes we have extraordinary regulations that are put on us on the business of nature recovery at times, and hold us back on nature recovery. We need to look at that. People are really excited about the return of this native animal to Britain, but what it does highlight in this whole discussion is actually what we need to do in Britain is not just learn to live with beavers. Actually, we need to learn again how to coexist with wildlife again.”
Angelika Von Heimendahl, the beaver reintroduction manager for the Wildlife Trusts, said: “The Wildlife Trusts, and also the National Trust, we have quite a lot of really trained, experienced people. I think we’ve submitted very good expressions of interest, and I think there has to be a meaningful move from the government to release numbers of beavers into areas that are well researched, have had stakeholder involvement and not just a pittance.
“We also don’t want to spend all our time and money jumping through hoops. We want to spend our money on the beavers, on the farming, on the learning about them.”
A Natural England spokesperson said: “Reintroducing beavers to our landscapes is a significant milestone, and we are committed to considering any expression of interest and supporting full applications. It is important that species reintroductions are conducted carefully, to secure long-term environmental benefits while avoiding potential risks.”
