Call for interest in beaver release to new catchments

NatureScot is inviting expressions of interest for the wild release of beavers to new catchments.

The aim is to get a better picture of where there is interest in beaver restoration, with a view to bringing interested organisations and individuals together to develop broad strategic plans for beavers at a catchment scale.

Scotland’s Beaver Strategy aims to increase the current range of beavers in Scotland, restoring them to suitable parts of the country, with appropriate management and mitigation where necessary.

Currently there are six catchments to which beavers have either been officially granted permission to remain or have been released. Populations are already established in Tayside, on the Forth, in Knapdale, Loch Lomond and the Cairngorms National Park. Two releases have also recently been approved in the Beauly catchment.

Dr Jenny Bryce, NatureScot’s beaver team manager, said: “Beavers are ecosystem engineers, creating habitats such as ponds and wetlands where other species thrive, as well as moderating water flows and improving water quality. In doing so, they play an important role in helping to restore biodiversity and respond to the climate emergency in Scotland.

“With other members of the Scottish Beaver Advisory Group, we’ve been looking at how we can identify further new catchments for beaver releases. Getting a clearer picture of where there is most interest will help us make the best use of resources and plan any future releases strategically.

“It doesn’t need to be a fully formed project, but we would expect there to be suitable habitat and some knowledge of landowner support for potential release sites. By gathering information on areas of interest, we can help steer focused discussion of the locations with the most potential for successful conservation translocations.”

Anyone with an interest is asked to get in touch via the online webform before November 30.

The call comes as NatureScot published its annual Beaver Management Report covering April 2024 to March 2025. Over the period, 102 beavers were removed under licence at 19 conflict sites, with the majority (79 or 77%) of these being trapped and moved.

Of these, 47 beavers were released in Scotland with families moved to both the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Parks, as well as a small number of animals released to low conflict sites within Tayside. A further 30 animals went to licenced projects in England and Wales. Two beavers died while being held in captive care.

Over the period, 23 beavers were killed under licence, significantly reduced from previous levels and reflecting the increased trapping and translocation effort by the Beaver Trust and Five Sisters Zoo, supported by NatureScot, as well as the willingness of land managers to use this non-lethal approach.

As in previous years, NatureScot provided a Beaver Mitigation Scheme for land managers with 124 beaver mitigation cases logged over the period. A total of 119 dams were dismantled under licence.

Dr Bryce added: “This year, we’re pleased to see more beavers moved to suitable areas across Scotland. We expect the ongoing survey of beaver populations in the Tay and surrounding catchments will confirm there continues to be a healthy and expanding beaver population. Where any issues have arisen, our staff have been available to help with advice and support for mitigation measures. There is currently an opportunity to move beavers to new areas and we want to help enable this where it will bring benefits to people and nature.

“We welcome the low number of beavers killed under licence as a last resort over this period; however, we recognise the numbers of beavers which will need to be removed will vary from year to year, as beavers continue to increase and expand their range.”

A new survey of beaver populations in the Tay and surrounding catchments is ongoing and will be reported on later this year. It is expected to show a trend of continuing range expansion.