Landmark Day for Beavers
Sussex Wildlife Trust welcomes the announcement on 28 February allowing licensed releases of Beavers into the wild in England, whilst confirming that all existing wild populations can remain and expand naturally.
This means that rather than releasing into isolated enclosures, the Government will support catchment-scale releases of Beavers. For the first time in over 400 years, Beavers can live and move freely in our rivers.
Only 14% of rivers in the UK are in good ecological condition and Beavers are natural ecosystem engineers, slowing the flow of water, filtering pollution and creating the conditions for an explosion of wetland and river wildlife. The Government recently committed to spending billions of pounds on hard infrastructure to combat flooding as well as compensating farmers for lost crops due to changing weather patterns. Beavers represent a nature-based solution to the issues our rivers and communities face.
A Beaver kit in Devon nibbling on a willow branch © Nick Upton
This news is a positive step towards restoring this key native species and realising the many benefits that it can bring for both people and wildlife. Chryssa Brown, Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Species Recovery Officer, has welcomed the news: “This is a landmark day for nature. We are thrilled to be hearing that the UK Government supports wild releases of Beavers. Beavers, who have been recognised legally as a native species in England since October 2022, play an important role in restoring wildlife abundance by creating habitats that can benefit a variety of other species. This news opens doors and we look forward to continuing our work with local stakeholders to explore the feasibility of returning wild Beavers to Sussex”.
Sussex Wildlife Trust has been working in partnership with various stakeholders to understand more about how Beavers will function in our local environments and how best we can support our community. We are committed to ensuring any reintroduction programmes in Sussex are sustainable, consider the full scale of benefits and challenges that a species may pose, whilst ensuring the best outcomes for people and nature. Alongside this announcement, Natural England has developed a detailed licencing process to make sure that stakeholders are engaged and landowners are supported throughout each stage of a release, to include ongoing management and advice. Sussex Wildlife Trust is committed to this process going forward
Beaver ponds create space for life, including frogspawn © Nick Upton
Sussex Wildlife Trust supports the Wildlife Trusts’ vision to protect at least 30% of land for nature by 2030 and alongside this, the return of wild Beavers to our national landscape.
If you would like more information, please contact us on [email protected]
Our Species Recovery Officer, Chryssa Brown, answers a few frequently asked questions following the announcement:
Where will Beavers first be let into the wild in Sussex?
A good but difficult question to answer at this stage.
The announcement on Friday is exciting as we have been working for years to get to a point where wild Beavers are licensed for release on a catchment-based scale. We are excited to be working with multiple landowners and stakeholders going forward with the vision for wild, free-moving Beavers in Sussex.
However, there is a lot of work to do to ensure that all communities, especially those who will be affected directly by Beavers, feel supported and that landscapes are ‘Beaver ready’.
As soon as they are released, Sussex Wildlife Trust will, of course, let everyone know! It will be the culmination of years of work, so we are as excited as you are to go and see their incredible work.
Are our waterways clean enough for them to be reintroduced safely?
The health and subsistence of any species that we are looking to reintroduce is paramount. We continue to work with various organisations who monitor and manage rivers, including river trusts, water companies and statutory agencies, to ensure that water quality in all catchments in Sussex is being monitored, and that conditions are as optimal as possible for species to thrive. This is for the benefit of all in Sussex, humans and animals alike.
As we explore the feasibility of returning Beavers to catchments within Sussex, we will also be looking to monitor the ongoing health of rivers. Currently, wild Beavers are present in several rivers in Kent, Devon, Somerset and Cornwall, some of which are rated as 'Poor' by the Environment Agency.
Studies are ongoing to determine how pollutants that may be present in river systems are filtered through sequences of Beaver dams and, additionally, whether pollutants also impact Beavers themselves. We will continue to support research, and subsequent findings will be considered within our plans.
How do the landowners we work with feel about this?
We have a supportive body of landowners who have been as excited as us to hear that Beavers are now licensed for wild release.
Sussex Wildlife Trust has been working in partnership with various stakeholders – including landowners and land managers, farmers and communities – to understand more about how beaver will function in our local environments, and what support is needed.
We are committed to ensuring any reintroduction programmes in Sussex are sustainable, consider the full scale of benefits and challenges that a species may pose, whilst ensuring the best outcomes for people and nature. We actively want to hear from those who are supportive of Beavers in the landscape as well as those who may have concerns, so that we can understand how best to support communities and shape management.
Which other species do we think could benefit the most from Beavers being in Sussex again?
Lots of other species benefit and it is hard to pinpoint just one! Because of what beavers do and the way that they engineer entire ecosystems, benefits cascade throughout the entire network of species – from plants that are better acclimatised to grow in wetter conditions, to creepy crawlies, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals (including us).
Beavers engineer land and manage water in ways that have been absent from our landscapes for generations, in total over 400 years since they were hunted to extinction in the UK, so their connections with people are one of the most interesting and diverse benefits of all.
Read more about Beavers in Sussex
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Comments
Great news. The Arun and Adur catchments are ideal Beaver country. Good luck.
06 Mar 2025 11:59:00
Would love to have some beavers in my woods to maintain stream and ponds.
06 Mar 2025 12:00:00
Really great idea to reintroduce beavers, however I’m concerned about the state of our rivers with regard to pollution. Please don’t endanger the lives of the animals.
06 Mar 2025 12:24:00
It would be brilliant if the first or, at least an early candidate for beaver release was the Pevensey Levels where they would enhance the existing eco-structure and accelerate the return of true wetland environments. This could be done alongside the Wildlife Trust’s existing enhancement plans north and south of the A259 road, using the waterways as crossing points for this road
06 Mar 2025 12:42:00
Very lovely BUT How long before they deemed a nuisance and need to be controlled…they have no top predator.
The UK needs to be food secure….anything that stops good farmland being used is a real danger to our future security.
06 Mar 2025 12:50:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Sussex Wildlife Trust have a supportive body of landowners working with us that have been as excited as us to hear that beavers are now licenced for wild release. We will continue to work in partnership with various stakeholders – including farmers, landowners, land managers, communities and organisations – to understand more about how beaver will function in our local environments and what support is needed going forward.
Nationally, we are seeing our landscapes suffer with increasing biodiversity loss, poor water quality as well as increasing flood and drought risk. Beavers represent a nature-based solution to the issues our rivers and communities face.
Introducing Beavers is a very bad idea. They will cause havoc as this country is no longer able to support these creatures. The Wild Trout Trust web site is worth reading on the subject.
06 Mar 2025 13:12:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Sussex Wildlife Trust is considering thoroughly the benefits and challenges posed by the reintroduction of any species into Sussex. The news on authorising licenced releases of wild beavers into English rivers - by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Natural England (NE) - has come about after decades of study looking into the interactions that Eurasian beavers have in landscapes in various parts of the UK. These include within wild populations in Scotland and Devon and enclosed releases in England and Wales, including work on fish presence and population. We are working closely with the EA, NE and DEFRA amongst other organisations going forward and will continue to support opportunities to research beaver and fish interactions, to ensure that any decisions are based upon the latest information and knowledge.
That will be amazing. I currently volunteer with yourselves and have built many leaky dams at various locations across Sussex. It will be great to see the professionals at work
06 Mar 2025 13:13:00
Fab, finally, again. Brilliant news. Well done all. Any help Stantec Ecology Water can give- I’m sure we would be very happy to provide.
06 Mar 2025 13:24:00
I’m hoping that agricultural land will be better preserved if uncontrolled flooding is mitigated by beaver actions
06 Mar 2025 13:35:00
I agree with the comment that June expressed.
And are there enough trees on the Pevensey Levels for the Beavers to do their work?
06 Mar 2025 13:48:00
Brilliant news! Well done all
06 Mar 2025 14:24:00
Britain is no longer a suitable location for beavers. There aren’t enough trees to go round and I’ve seen the damage beavers can cause in the few released in Devon. Two will soon become 20, and 20 become200.
Our farmland must be preserved for food production and already faces enough threats from solar farms, wind farms and new housing developments.
06 Mar 2025 16:02:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
The landscapes in Britain have co-evolved alongside beaver for millennia. However, it has only been due to intense human persecution that beavers have not been in our landscapes since the 16th century. Nationally, we are seeing our landscapes suffer with increasing biodiversity loss, poor water quality as well as increasing flood and drought risk. Beavers represent a nature-based solution to the issues our rivers and communities face.
Sussex Wildlife Trust have a supportive body of landowners working with us that have been as excited as us to hear that beavers are now licenced for wild release. We will continue to work in partnership with various stakeholders – including farmers, landowners, land managers, communities and organisations – to understand more about how beaver will function in our local environments and what support is needed going forward.
Absolutely brilliant!
06 Mar 2025 16:15:00
As always, the pro beaver lobby says nothing about the potential downside. What about the effects of beavers slowing flow with the consequence of deposition of silt on salmonid (and other fresh water fish) spawning gravels ? The EA has worked tirelessly for many years to protect sea trout in Sussex. Will the catchments that support sea trout populations be protected from beavers ?
06 Mar 2025 16:38:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Sussex Wildlife Trust is considering thoroughly the benefits and challenges posed by the reintroduction of any species into Sussex. The news on authorising licenced releases of wild beavers into English rivers - by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Natural England (NE) - has come about after decades of study looking into the interactions that Eurasian beavers have in landscapes in various parts of the UK. These include within wild populations in Scotland and Devon and enclosed releases in England and Wales, including work on fish presence and population. We are working closely with the EA, NE and DEFRA amongst other organisations going forward and will continue to support opportunities to research beaver and fish interactions, to ensure that any decisions are based upon the latest information and knowledge.
This should be a great opportunity to enhance Sussex’s environment and wildlife, as long as the releases are properly carried out. The Beaver Trust has good advice on possible impacts:
https://beavertrust.org/beaver-basics/beaver-impacts/
06 Mar 2025 16:50:00
I would hate to be a beaver in Sussex. Concrete being slathered indiscriminately everywhere so that wildlife already has fewer places to go. Sewage polluted waterways to live in. Fewer food sources. This is all very lovely & romantic but, sadly, totally unrealistic in the Sussex people have created which is anything but wildlife-friendly.
06 Mar 2025 22:51:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
The health and subsistence of any species that we are looking to reintroduce is paramount. As we explore the feasibility of returning Beavers to catchments within Sussex, we will also be looking to monitor the ongoing health of rivers. Currently, wild Beavers are present in several rivers in Kent, Devon, Somerset and Cornwall, some of which are rated as 'Poor' by the Environment Agency. We are hoping that Beavers can be our partners in reversing some of the negative trends for water, wildife and all of us.
This is great news, not least to see this government making a decision that is positive towards our environment, and forward-thinking. A pleasant surprise!
10 Mar 2025 10:06:00