{"id":412262,"date":"2026-02-07T03:14:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T03:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/412262\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T03:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T03:14:13","slug":"more-beavers-released-but-critics-say-its-too-dam-slow-to-rewild-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/412262\/","title":{"rendered":"More beavers released but critics say it\u2019s too dam slow to rewild England"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a soggy February morning at Knepp estate in West Sussex it is hard to avoid signs of beavers. Branches have been dammed across the end of Hammer Pond, holding back water upstream. The distinctive pencil-shaped remains of trunks and felled trees abound. One of the bulky rodents\u2019 lodges stands by the water edge, like a sturdy bivouac.<\/p>\n

Most of the estate\u2019s eight or so beavers were meant to stay in a two-hectare fenced area. However, some escaped in April and now move between the enclosure and former farmland.<\/p>\n

Two more colonies are due to be released in southwest England within days, with the blessing of the government. <\/p>\n

\"Beaver<\/p>\n

A beaver drags a branch on the Knepp estate<\/p>\n

KNEPP ESTATE<\/p>\n

They are the only sanctioned sets since the first legally released pair made a wet woodland in Dorset<\/a> their home almost a year ago. Although ministers won plaudits from conservationists for opening the door to legal releases after years of dithering<\/a> by the former Tory government, there is mounting frustration at the rollout\u2019s pace and cost.<\/p>\n

Derek Gow, an ecologist and species reintroduction expert, said: \u201cIt really is a typical British bumbling bugger-up,\u201d referring to the A69 licences that have to be granted from the regulator Natural England.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of happy clappy stuff, an image of \u2018something\u2019s happening\u2019. But they [regulators] are incredibly pedantic and incredibly slow. If we\u2019re looking to recover nature, you can\u2019t do it without this animal that holds back water. It\u2019s the first building block,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"Trees<\/p>\n

Trees are damaged by beavers on the estate<\/p>\n

PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

Gow wants to see more of a Bavarian-style model, releasing the animals faster while authorities focus instead on \u201cbeaver officers\u201d and a response hotline for farmers.<\/p>\n

Advocates of beavers, which were hunted to extinction in England about five centuries ago, said they helped to strip pollutants out of rivers, created habitat for frogs and made landscapes more sponge-like, reducing flood risk overall. However, they can also cause unwanted localised floods \u2014 a key reason some farmers are opposed to them.<\/p>\n

\u2022 National Trust gets record cash donation: \u00a310m to spend as it pleases<\/a><\/p>\n

As he walked past the beaver-cut remains of willow trees at Knepp, Matt Phelps, the estate\u2019s lead ecologist, agreed with Gow: \u201cIt\u2019s very slow, very onerous, very long-winded.\u201d <\/p>\n

The estate\u2019s owner, Lady Burrell, better known as Isabella Tree<\/a> and the author of the book Wilding, said the process amounted to a \u201cdelaying tactic\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is doing nothing to allay the fears of farmers and others who want to know where they stand and what they can practically do if a beaver comes on to their land and causes problems such as damming irrigation ditches,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

Matt Phelps, the Knepp estate\u2019s lead Ecologist, by a dam built by beavers on Hammer Pond on the estate<\/p>\n

PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

Though legal releases only began last year, illegal ones started around 2014. The government has estimated there are about 500 beavers in the wild in England, but Gow put the figure at about 4,000. Burrell said the release regime was \u201cout of sync\u201d with the fact beavers are spreading across southern England by themselves.<\/p>\n

The Wildlife Trusts, which have about 250 beavers in enclosures, hope to have seven licences approved this year, up from none so far. Angelika von Heimendahl, the group\u2019s beaver reintroduction manager, said a good outcome would be more than 200 animals released over the next two years, but admitted that the jury was still out on the licences\u2019 success.<\/p>\n

\"Water<\/p>\n

Water is backed up on Hammer Pond after beavers built a dam<\/p>\n

PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

Matt Heard, director for national delivery at Natural England, said he welcomed the enthusiasm of groups expressing an interest in wild releases. \u201cThe foundation for long-term coexistence comes from well-planned, collaborative projects built on engagement and trust, and we are committed to getting it right for nature and communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Whether the government streamlines the legal releases may not matter, given beavers\u2019 success in the wild. \u201cBeavers are taking matters into their own hands and rewilding themselves,\u201d Burrell said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a soggy February morning at Knepp estate in West Sussex it is hard to avoid signs of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412263,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":["post-412262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}