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

Plans to release beavers in Glen Affric in the Scottish Highlands have been delayed over fears about their impact on the environment.

NatureScot, the Scottish Government agency for nature, said there continued to be "considerable concern about the proposal" among farmers, crofters and fishing groups.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and Trees for Life had been working on the plans and had hoped to release the beavers near Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin, five miles upstream from Cannich, this spring.

Trees for Life, a charity that aims to rewild the Highlands, accused NatureScot of “great beaver betrayal” following the decision.

The charity’s chief executive Steve Micklewright said: “This is an astonishing move by NatureScot.

Plans to release beavers into Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin in Glen Affric have been delayed due to fears about their impact on the environment.

“After two years of exhaustive consultations that far exceeded the requirements set out by NatureScot and that they have described as exemplary, one has to ask, what more is there to consult on?”

Hundreds of beavers have formed colonies in the Tay area of the southern Highlands. The animals have settled on islands near the city of Perth and spreading south to the Forth valley after being inadvertently or deliberately released from private collections in the area in the early 2000s.

Despite the Scottish Government designating beavers protected status from 2019, NatureScot has been able to issue licenses to cull the animals that are blamed by farmers in Tayside for damaging crops and prime agricultural land.

Further legal releases of beavers have since taken place in Knapdale in Argyll and parts of the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands.

Conservationists push for beaver reintroductions because they claim the animals create biodiverse wetlands and mitigate downstream flooding with their dams.

After an initial public consultation on the Glen Affric beaver project, the proposal was scaled down and a fresh consultation found the majority of local people were in favour of the proposal for beaver release in the area.

Many in the farming community, however, have repeatedly raised concerns about the flooding and damage that beavers can cause, and the lack of compensation for businesses when this happens.

Since 2021, the release of beavers has been encouraged by the Scottish Government, including agencies such as FLS. Beaver reintroduction was a high priority for Green party ministers during the SNP coalition.