Beavers could ‘supercharge’ Britain’s ‘landscape recovery’, that is if Labour permits the ‘Tory legacy’ plans to reintroduce the rodent back into the wild to go ahead
The Tory’s plans to reintroduce beavers back into the wild has been ‘blocked’, nature charities say(Image: Getty Images/All Canada Photos)
Nature charities have blasted the Labour Government after it “blocked” plans to release beavers back into the wild because they view it as a “Tory legacy”.
Officials are said to have put the brakes on reintroducing the rodent, which until about 20 years ago had been extinct in Britain for 400 years. Natural England, the government’s nature watchdog, had already drawn up a plan for reintroductions of the rodent, which has already been signed off by environment secretary Steve Reed.
But it was said to be stopped in its tracks as it was passed to No10 for final approval by officials who were not in favour of the policy as they viewed it as a “Tory legacy”.
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Natural England executives are said to be furious that years of “painstaking work” to bring the beaver back to Britain’s rivers has been undone in just seconds.
Former Tory PM Boris Johnson was keen on reintroducing beavers, promising in a 2021 speech to “build back beaver”.
Representatives of leading nature charities including the National Trust, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust and the Mammal Society have since written to Mr Reed asking him to push the policy through so beavers can be released across England.
The animals were extinct in Britain until around 20 years ago(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Rob Stoneman, from the Wildlife Trusts, said: “The UK is suffering from a freshwater crisis – polluted rivers, floods, and the threat of drought – at the same time as experiencing the appalling effects of the nature and climate crises.
“These are all linked and would benefit hugely from a cheap, natural solution: beavers. It’s high time we freed the beaver and let them supercharge landscape recovery in the UK – it’s extremely frustrating that wild beaver licences have been blocked.”
But they reintroduction into the wild would help freshen up the UK’s waterways(Image: Getty Images/imageBROKER RF)
Beavers were extinct for centuries having been hunted for their fur, meat and scent oil but are enormously helpful for our wildlife, creating useful habitats for wildlife, reducing flooding by breaking up waterways, slowing water flow, and creating still pools.
The Government said they were reviewing options into the plan. A government spokesperson said: “This story is categorically untrue. The government is working with Natural England to review options on species reintroduction, including beavers.”