‘Watershed’ moment as first legal wild release of beavers in England takes place

The first beavers have been released into the wild after the Government’s “milestone” decision to give the green light for their return to rivers and wetlands in England.

The semi-aquatic animals – which engineer the landscape with dams, ponds and channels that boost other wildlife and help counter flooding and drought – were released into England’s first super national nature reserve at Purbeck, Dorset, on Wednesday.

It marks the first official return of beavers into the wild – aside from those in a trial living wild on the River Otter in Devon – in England since they vanished from the country’s waterways more than four hundred years ago.

The first pair of beavers were released from their crates into wet woodland close to Little Sea lake in front of a hushed group of conservationists and media, unconcerned by their historic status as they began to explore their new habitat in the pale spring sunshine.

Beavers grooming each other in Five Sisters Zoo ahead of their release at Purbeck (Beaver Trust/PA)

First the male and then the female sauntered over the muddy ground and slipped into the water among the trees.

Nature Minister Mary Creagh, who helped release the animals into a landscape she described as “beaver heaven”, said: “This is a very special and very historic moment for the country.

“This is the first ever wild release of beavers since they were hunted to extinction several centuries ago.”

She added: “They are nature’s master builders, and we know they can prevent flooding, but we also know that they are really important in creating species-rich habitats as well.”

It is hoped the animals will create more open, complex wetlands that will help other wildlife thrive, and as they move into other catchments in Purbeck, they will start to improve water quality and reduce the risk of downstream flooding.

While beavers became extinct in Britain more than 400 years ago due to hunting for their pelts, meat and glands, they have made their way back to England’s rivers, through escapes from enclosures and illegal releases, and were given legal protection in 2022.

Little Sea is a 33-hectare (82 acre) lake in the heart of the 3,400-hectare Purbeck Heaths, a mosaic of habitats including heathland, coasts and wetland which was declared England’s first super national nature reserve in 2020.

They have also been introduced to many fenced wetland and river sites.

But conservationists have long called for licensed wild returns to the wider English countryside, to boost wildlife in the UK – considered one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth – and deliver benefits to people.

Evidence shows the wetland systems beavers create provide a home for wildlife ranging from threatened water voles to kingfishers, snipe and dragonflies.

They also hold water to curb flooding downstream in heavy rain and retain moisture in the landscape during times of drought, as well as purify water and store carbon.

But there have been concerns about the impact of beavers flooding roads, properties and farmland, and targeting crops such as maize and cricket bat willow.

Last week, the Government announced a licensing system to legally return beavers to the wild in England in “well-managed” releases that would be allowed in high-benefit, low-risk projects, where communities are helped to adapt to living with beavers.

The National Trust, which is behind the release of two pairs beavers on Wednesday, said the site on the Little Sea lake at Purbeck was highly suitable for beavers, with a large body of fresh water surrounded by dense willow woodland that would provide them with food.

David Brown, National Trust senior ecologist for the Purbeck Estate, said it was a “massively significant” for Purbeck and Studland, as well as for England’s nature more widely.

“To have them back is really exciting, because we know when you bring beavers back, they’re going to bring back all sorts of other nature with them as well.”

He added: “And this feels like a real turning point for nature recovery here, recognising that wildlife is important, we’ve been losing it for centuries, and we need to bring it back.

“And we can bring it back if we do it right.”

He said the National Trust was “not just chucking beavers out and letting them get on with it”.

“We’ve really worked hard to understand where they’ll go and what they’ll do, and we’ve spoken to everybody who might be affected by them,” he added.

The National Trust’s licensed release comes after two beavers appeared at Little Sea in January 2024, thought to have colonised from elsewhere in Dorset’s waterways where they are already living wild or through an unauthorised release.

Gen Crisford, beaver project officer at Purbeck, said the unexpected arrivals will be included in the project to manage the beavers in the area long term, with experts on hand to advise people on managing beaver impacts and what support and funding is available.

She described the first release of beavers in the wild in England as a “special moment”, which the trust had worked towards for seven years, with widespread engagement with landowners and other local people,

She added there was a lot of excitement in the community about the project.

The beavers have been brought from the Tay catchment in Scotland by the Beaver Trust, with one pair an already established couple in the wild and the other introduced to each other in captivity before their transport south.

Marian Spain, chief executive of government agency Natural England, said the release was a “sign that we are taking those vital steps to restoring nature across England”.

“We know that beavers can make a huge contribution to flood risk management, to water quality because they filter water, and by doing those things they also help other wetland species that we know and love.

“But I also think they’ll bring people a lot of joy, and we should never forget that nature brings people joy.”

While Natural England has invited expressions of interest for other wild releases, she expected only a small number of projects would come forward in the first wave.

And in response to concerns about the negative impacts of beavers, she said there was a full package of measures in place, including the possibility of licensed lethal control as a last resort.