Many beaver groups have made no secret of their frustration at not seeing the animals live “free uncontained lives”, as one put it, and the Wildlife Trusts have campaigned for many years for a change in policy.
Duncan Hutt from Northumberland Wildlife Trust said: “We just need to let them get on with doing what they do best, creating wetlands and improving biodiversity.”
Roisin Campbell-Palmer, from the charity Beaver Trust, said enclosures “can be wonderful demonstration models” generating “important science”, but the charity’s preference would always be that beavers are released “in the wild on a larger scale”.
In any case, as a result of historical illegal releases beavers are already paddling their way into new areas.
“In time in Britain there will be tens of thousands of beavers,” she said.
“It’s happening already, but more wild releases will speed up the process.”
If only Steve could have waited.