Second family of beavers relocated to new home in effort to support species

The beavers have been moved from an area where they were causing serious agricultural damage for farmers.

A second family of beavers have been translocated in Scotland in a bid to protect the species (Mark Hamblin/scotlandbigpicture.com) (PA Media)

A second family of beavers has been relocated to a farm in Scotland in a bid to help population numbers in the wild.

The move comes after the Scottish Government said last year that it would support translocation of beavers to new areas of Scotland rather than killing them if they are causing damage.

The five beavers were moved to the Argaty Red Kite centre near Doune, in addition to the five beavers already relocated there in November last year.

The charity, Beaver Trust, carried out the translocation last Friday, February 11.

It will be so exciting to see how they enhance biodiversity on our farm

Tom Bowser, owner of Argaty Red Kites

The beavers were trapped and taken under licence from areas where they were causing serious agricultural damage for farmers and where mitigation measures have not been successful or are not possible, Scotland’s nature agency, NatureScot, said.

The farm is one of just two translocation sites authorised in Scotland, with the first being the beaver reintroduction trial site in Knapdale, Argyll.

Tom Bowser, owner of Argaty Red Kites, said: “We are thrilled to be Scotland’s first private site to legally release beavers into the wild. It will be so exciting to see how they enhance biodiversity on our farm.”

Beaver dams are said to create nature-rich wetlands that benefit many other species, including amphibians, invertebrates and fish, and which also improve water quality, moderate water flows and reduce downstream flooding.

Roisin Campbell-Palmer, of Beaver Trust, said: “The translocation of this beaver family can be considered a success, with both parents and all seen offspring trapped over a short time frame with full engagement of the landowner, lots of positive familial behaviours observed with all individuals eating well and completing health screening checks.

“Being able to release these beavers as a well-bonded family unit feels like we are giving them the best chance for relocation success and away from prime-agricultural land where they were causing a significant issue.”

NatureScot welcomed the beavers’ relocation to Argaty.

Donald Fraser, NatureScot’s head of wildlife management, said: “Projects like this one at Argaty allow beavers to be trapped and removed from highly productive agricultural land where they are causing damage to farmland and released in an area where nature will benefit and there is less risk to agriculture.”

Mr Fraser said a mitigation scheme is available to farmers and other land managers who have expressed concern about the new arrivals in the Argaty area.

He said: “In assessing this licence application, we listened to concerns expressed in the Argaty area from local farmers, who are concerned that the translocated beavers will move quickly into burns on their land and potentially flood land and cause damage to heritage (trees) and other trees.

“We’d like to assure these farmers and other land and fisheries managers that our mitigation scheme is available to help them with any issues which arise and that our assessment is that, on balance, the expected benefits will outweigh any negative impacts.”

Mr Fraser said some of the mitigation measures include tree protection, exclusion fencing and installing flow devices in beaver dams.

Recent NatureScot figures estimate the beaver population in Scotland at between 602 and 1,381 animals, with a rough median estimate of 954 beavers across 254 territories, mainly in the Forth and Tay catchment areas.

Figures published by NatureScot show that 115 beavers were killed and 31 relocated elsewhere in 2020.