Dozens of beavers legally shot in Scotland since they were given protected status

Dozens of beavers were shot under licence in Scotland in the first year after they were given protected status, according to a report by Scotland's national nature agency.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said the animals were ecosystem engineers and provide "huge benefits to people and nature, improving water quality and flow, and creating new habitats that foster many other species".

However, they said the creatures could also sometimes cause serious impacts for land managers, such as flooding of fields and crops, and in some circumstances it was "necessary to manage beavers and their dams". A total of 87 were shot.

Scotland's beavers have enjoyed European Protected Species status since May 1 last year, but the report reveals that between in the remainder of 2019 SNH issued 45 species licences to farmers and landowners in Tayside, permitting either lethal control or dam removal.

Under the licences, 15 beavers were trapped and moved to either Knapdale in Argyll or a trial reintroduction project and fenced sites in England, 83 beaver dams were removed, and 87 beavers were shot "by trained and accredited controllers".

SNH said that the licences were only issued when there was "no other effective solution to prevent serious agricultural damage".

The agency said live trapping was not always possible because of the nature of some sites and the behaviour of individual animals.

Robbie Kernahan, SNH Director of Sustainable Growth said: "It’s always been clear to both us and our partners that lethal control of beavers will sometimes be necessary under licence as a last resort when other mitigation is unlikely to be effective.

"Some of the well documented and most serious issues have occurred on the most productive areas of agricultural land in Scotland. Due to their generally being well-drained, low-lying and flat, these areas are often vulnerable to beaver burrowing and dam building. "

As we work with farmers to trial new and innovative measures for reducing the impacts of beavers on this type of ground, we hope to see less need for control measures in the coming years.

"We also expect to see the beaver population expanding away from high conflict areas and into suitable habitat where beavers can thrive and bring the positive benefits we want to see."

Andrew McCornick , president of NFU Scotland, said: “In its first year of operation,  the accreditation, management and licensing framework for managing beavers, as established by all key stakeholders including Scottish Government and SNH, is proving effective and fit for purpose.

“It has allowed the management of beavers in those areas of productive farmland where the species has had a clear impact.  The report notes that more than 90 percent of beaver territories have been unaffected by the licensing system.

“The number of beavers and their range continues to expand and it remains vitally important that, where there is conflict, the impact on farmland of beavers in new and existing catchments can continue to be managed through this framework.

“While that may involve lethal control, we note from the report that three-quarters of licence holders have proactively engaged with the role of trapping."

Beavers were released in Knapdale Forest, Argyll, as part of a pioneering project to restore the native species more than 400 years after they were hunted to extinction in Scotland.

Their protected status means it is illegal to carry out lethal control of beavers or destroy established dams and lodges without a licence - a move that conservationists hoped would help enable the animals to expand their range.

Beavers in Tayside and surrounding areas are largely the result of unauthorised releases or escapes, however, with some animals settling on prime agricultural land, the most productive and important farmland, classed as being of national importance.

The agency said it would consider opportunities for conservation translocations of beavers from high to low conflict areas and other alternative measures as part of a wider beaver mitigation strategy.

SNH also operates the Beaver Mitigation Scheme which offers advice and support such as installing flow devices, tree protection work, exclusion fencing and bank protection to protect agricultural land, infrastructure and property.

It has begun trialling water-gates this year, which aim to exclude beavers from areas of land where conflicts are arising or likely, as well as other techniques.

The SNH report reveals that 33 per cent of licence requests were refused and one additional licence was granted to allow an experienced ecologist to live-trap beavers from sites where lethal control may otherwise have been employed.

However, conservation charity the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) said the figures were "alarming" and warned that if the rate of killing continued it could threaten the future of the species in Scotland.

Sarah Robinson, SWT's Director of Conservation, said: "This report confirms that at least one-fifth of the beaver population in Tayside has been shot in a single season.

"It demonstrates that heavy localised culling can impact the population over a wider area, and is halting the ability of animals to spread out through a vacuum effect.

"These are alarming figures. Such a heavy cull has almost certainly had a negative impact on the conservation status of a protected species. If lethal control continues at this level, we would have grave concerns for the future of beavers in Scotland."

She added: "Scotland’s people and wildlife would benefit greatly from a thriving population of beavers. To achieve this goal we urgently need a robust national strategy that helps the species to spread into the 100,000 hectares of core habitat that have been identified."