from Sunday Herald, 10 June 2007
They're cute, they cut down trees and at last they could be coming home. After seven years of political prevarication, beavers now look set to be reintroduced to Scotland.
The new Environment Minister, Michael Russell, wants to bring the tail-slapping, dam-building, tree-gnawing mammals back. And he's prepared to risk the wrath of landowners - and the delight of animal-lovers - to do so.
In one of his first acts as an SNP minister, Russell will this week ask Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to draw up new plans to reintroduce the beaver. The wildlife agency originally applied for a trial reintroduction in 2000, but was turned down in 2005 by Labour and LibDem ministers after a series of delays.
"The beaver is a part of our natural heritage which was destroyed by man," Russell told the Sunday Herald. "I think the time is right to ask SNH to make new proposals, taking into account the objections that led to the refusal, and I look forward to considering them as soon as they can be brought forward."
He pointed out that SNH's previous proposal had had "strong backing" and that beavers had been successful reintroduced in over 20 European countries. "Given the loss of species worldwide we are going to have to learn a lot about reintroduction," he said.
"Getting more practical experience will be crucial and a project such as this - in which we can learn from others and make our own contribution to restoring Scotland's biodiversity - seems to me to have many positive possibilities."
Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland more than four hundred years ago. They were killed for their furs, which are soft and waterproof, and for the oil they secrete, castoreum, which has medicinal benefits and was believed to enhance sexual potency.
Bringing beavers back now would be the first ever planned reintroduction of a mammal into Scotland. To date only birds, such as the sea eagle and the red kite, have been officially reintroduced.
SNH's previous proposal was to import up to 20 European beavers from Norway and release them at Knapdale wildlife reserve in mid-Argyll, run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Forestry Commission. They would have been radio-tagged and monitored for five years, before any more were introduced.
But local landowners vociferously objected, fearing that the incomers might damage the environment. Ministers in the previous Scottish Executive ended up rejecting the SNH plan, though they did not rule out future reintroductions.
Beavers are vegetarians, so there is no danger of them eating wild animals or farming livestock. But they do strip the bark from trees and fell them to make dams to create pools for protecting their burrows and food supplies.
News of Russell's initiative was warmly welcomed by Simon Milne, the chief executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. "As a keystone species, the beaver will help to restore depleted wetland habitats and bring benefits to a wide range of species," he said.
He urged ministers to engage people in such an "exciting" project. "I believe beavers should have been reintroduced long ago and I would hope that we don’t waste more time before this becomes a reality," he added.
There was a more cautious response, however, from Rhona Brankin, Labour's Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, and a former environment minister. "I welcome this issue being reopened," she said.
"But I have a huge concern that public funding isn't diverted from the protection of native species which are endangered, like the red squirrel."
The National Farmers Union Scotland said it was not against a trial reintroduction, but was concerned that beavers, once released, would be difficult to control. "NFUS and its members are happy to look at any new evidence which is brought to our attention and re-evaluate our position," stated the union's Anna Davies.
SNH pointed out that the beaver was one of the priorities for the next five years in the agency's 'species action framework'. It is not clear, though, whether the Knapdale site will be considered again, or whether another area will be chosen for a trial.
Said an SNH spokesman: "We would welcome discussions on the possible reintroduction of the European beaver. We have done a huge amount of work on this in the past to investigate feasibility and logistics."
Read earlier stories about reintroducing beavers here and here.
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