Waters of Life: A Fight for Scotland’s Beavers by Tom Bowser review: 'a story of hope'

Family is a running theme in Tom Bowser’s new book Waters of Life: A Fight for Scotland’s Beavers. The families of beavers on his land, his family’s involvement with them and the conservation family he formed when bringing the rodents to his farm in Perthshire.

These personal references and relationships are part of an emotive and raw account of the author’s experience of being the first landowner in Scotland to legally relocate beavers to spare some of the animals the bullet, which sounds to have been desperately challenging at times.

Going for a swim

Once Bowser had decided he wanted the rodents living in the suitable habitat he could provide, just a few kilometres from where they were causing upset in farming territory, you would think it would have been fairly straightforward to move them, especially given they would likely move there anyway.

But no, not with the Scottish Government, where, as many in both the food production and conservation worlds know, the level of bureaucracy sometimes seems to know no bounds. Perhaps we need a few hypothetical dams in the never-ending river of red tape to help trickle through clearer solutions.

READ MORE: Watch the first beaver kits in 400 years born in the wild in Scottish national park

While a proportion of the book focuses on the lengthy legislative nightmare Bowser had to go through in order to complete what seemed like a pretty logical move, the story also brings into sharp focus the dark underbelly of conservation on the ground and some of the infighting that goes on.

Bowser’s dedication to his cause is admirable, and his devotion to the rodents only seems to grow with every page, to the point where the book really becomes an ode to the beaver.

Tom Bowser, right, with James Nairne of the Scottish Wild Beaver Group

The reputation of these animals being ecosystem engineers is brought to life with the author’s almost fairy-tale-like descriptions of how his land is transformed by them, boasting ponds teeming with insect life and birdsong filling the air. The sense of wonder is added to with anecdotes of people’s “first beaver experiences”, including his young daughter’s.

With the author being a former farmer, I was looking forward to there being a bit more of a measured voice in what is now a highly polarised debate. However, I was a little disappointed to find out that this was not the case - indeed, a fair chunk of the book plays to the predictable “angry farmer” vs “save the day conservationists” narrative.

Judging by the author’s account it certainly sounds as if these stereotypes played out in this case, from the disproportionately high cull numbers despite “last resort” rules, to the fraught village hall meetings. But the sympathetic tone he deploys when talking about rewilder Derek Gow’s “f*** it” attitude when it comes to releasing wild animals, plus the absence of some voices from the farming community who are working hard on nature-friendly solutions, doesn’t help encourage resolution.

READ MORE: Scotland accused of 'beaver betrayal' as nature officials delay release in picturesque glen

There are some sound ecological points made, and Bowser’s story is certainly one of hope for the species to find homes in other parts of Scotland, with translocations a solution over culls. But there’s an elephant in the room: what happens when numbers increase?

When beavers were last in Britain before being driven to extinction, which the book also gives an interesting history lesson on, research shows there was a population of about 4 million people. Now, there are about 70 million of us. Rural Scotland is also seeing a major industrial revolution in the race for Net Zero with pylons, windfarms, hydro schemes, plans for hydrogen plants near rivers and commercial forestry, on top of the development that happened in the last industrial revolution and since. It’s a very different world to the one beavers were initially pushed out of.

Bavaria is helpfully mentioned as a place for Scotland to look to for its beaver situation. But while the book mentions they have more than a thousand beaver officers to help with mitigation, which would be great here, the narrative appears to leave out discussions on how the German region culls about eight per cent of the population every year, too. There is an exchange with NFU Scotland former president Martin Kennedy which shows Bowser acknowledges culling might be necessary when numbers rise, as seen in other countries. But I felt the author shied away from addressing this hard truth in Scotland’s future with beavers head on in his book.

Waters of Life: A Fight for Scotland’s Beavers, by Tom Bowser, Birlinn, £14.99

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