BOTH of Scotland’s national parks are set to have official beaver populations.
The news comes after NatureScot, the government’s conservation agency, approved a licence application from the Cairngorms National Park Authority to release up to six beaver families in the upper River Spey catchment.
A family is defined as a pair of beavers with dependent young kits. The licence allows for future releases of up to 15 families over the next five years.
The approval marks the fifth catchment to which beavers have either been officially granted permission to remain or have been released.
READ MORE: How many beavers are really being shot in Scotland?
Populations are already established in Tayside, on the Forth, in Knapdale, and in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
NatureScot said the newly approved Spey catchment had been assessed as “highly favourable … with a low risk of beaver/human conflict”.
The agency said in a statement: “NatureScot considers that establishing a new population in the River Spey will bring many biodiversity and ecosystem benefits to the Cairngorms National Park and make a significant contribution to beaver restoration in Scotland.”
Donald Fraser, NatureScot’s head of wildlife management, said: “This decision marks a significant milestone for beaver restoration in Scotland, bringing this keystone species back to one of our biggest river catchments with huge potential for beavers to contribute to habitat restoration and biodiversity enhancement in the Cairngorms National Park.
“We also appreciate and understand both the support and legitimate concerns articulated by farmers and crofters through the consultation process. We are satisfied that the monitoring and mitigation plans set out by the Cairngorms National Park Authority, alongside our existing Beaver Mitigation Scheme, will sufficiently address any potential conflicts that may arise.”
NatureScot said the beavers will be trapped and taken under licence from areas where they are having a negative impact on prime agricultural land and where mitigation measures have not been successful or are not possible.
The beavers will also undergo appropriate health screening before being released.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel