The Government has today announced that applications to return beavers into river catchments in England will be accepted.

This decision paves the way for this native species to roam wild in British rivers and lakes once more, helping to create wetlands and increase biodiversity. Natural England has developed a detailed licencing regime and application process to make sure that stakeholders are engaged and landowners are supported.

Only 14% of rivers in the UK are in good ecological condition and beavers are natural ecosystem engineers, retaining as well as releasing water, filtering pollution and creating the conditions for an explosion of wetland and river wildlife.

The Government recently committed to spending billions of pounds on hard infrastructure to combat flooding as well as compensating farmers for lost crops due to changing weather patterns. Releasing beavers represents a nature-based solution to many problems our rivers face and are shown to significantly reduce flood peaks.

The return of beavers has been carefully planned over a long period of time. DEFRA ran a public beaver consultation three years ago showing overwhelming support for reintroducing this keystone species; changes to English law made them a native species in October 2022.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust has been at the forefront of campaigning for the return of beavers. In 2009, the very first beavers were legally released into Scotland through a partnership between Scottish Wildlife Trust, Zoological Society of Scotland and what is now Forestry Land Scotland.

The Wildlife Trusts believe their release into river catchments is long overdue.

Mike Pratt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Chief Executive says:

“Beavers are nature’s aquatic engineers and a force of nature. They have unrivalled capacity to breathe new life into our threatened rivers and wetlands including significant reduction in the most damaging flood peaks, drought resilience, improved water quality, and carbon sequestration.

“In other parts of the UK, beavers have inspired communities to take action for nature and have boosted tourist visits.”

The Wildlife Trusts are delighted that Natural England will grant licences to release beavers within the year with wild releases expected as early as autumn 2025.

The charities welcome the opportunity to work with landowners and communities in the areas where beavers have made a comeback already – and are looking forward to a future where beavers are considered a normal part of UK wildlife.

Rob Stoneman, director of landscape recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, says:

“Beavers lived alongside us for thousands of years before we hunted them to British extinction a few hundred years ago. Now we’ll be able to see beavers return to our rivers and, in turn, witness the way they create new wetlands and flood protection for our homes and ensure better water quality – at almost no cost to society. More than that, we can all experience the magic of seeing beavers back in rivers that will be wilder as a result.

“Now that the first step has been taken to letting beavers be free, we need to see sufficient advice, support, and funding earmarked for landowners to help them facilitate beavers on their land and manage the resulting changes to landscapes.”