Something positive in an otherwise awful week
The Guardian reports
Beavers will be released into the wild under government proposals to support a “cautious” return of the semi-aquatic mammals to English rivers.
The native animals will also be given legal protection in England, making it an offence to deliberately capture, kill, disturb or injure them, or damage their breeding sites or resting places, as part of efforts to support their recovery.
Under plans being put out for consultation, applications for licences to release beavers into the wild would need to meet certain criteria, including local buy-in and ensuring support for landowners and river users is in place.
Beavers are seen as natural engineers who restore wetland habitats through dam-building and felling trees, slowing, storing and filtering water in their habitat, which attracts other wildlife and reduces flooding downstream.
The species was hunted to extinction in Britain in the 16th century for their fur, glands and meat.
