THE Scottish Government is still to rule on whether beavers have a future in Scotland, but the pressure to make the decision soon is growing. Almost 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for the animals to be protected after it emerged at least 20 of them have been shot by landowners. The campaigners behind the petition say a lack of an official decision by the government means beavers are in a kind of legal limbo that allows them to be killed indiscriminately.
No one, apart from those responsible, knows precisely why the animals were killed, but some landowners have been arguing beavers can damage crops and land and spread disease, and it is one of the arguments around reintroduction that the government will have to consider. On the other side, there is evidence that beavers have a positive effect on biodiversity and bring benefits to other species including otters and birds.
An official trial looking at how beavers would fare in Scotland, and what effect they would have on the environment, has been operating in Knapdale in Argyll since 2008 and although the final results are not known, the case for permanently reintroducing the animal is becoming increasingly hard to resist. Beavers living wild once more in Scotland has the potential to help restore a richer, wilder environment in large parts of our country.
To work effectively, the reintroduction would have to be done in stages, using a series of licensed introductions, and it would also have to address the concerns of landowners. As the petitioners have pointed out, the current position means that beavers can be shot at any time for any reason, but one of the benefits of giving them official status would be that a licensing system could be established to allow farmers to petition to have beavers removed if necessary.
By delaying the final decision further, the Scottish Government is only allowing the current uncertain position to persist. Ministers have had the report on Knapdale for months. It is time for them to make a decision and tell us what the fate of the beavers will be.
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