Beaver on

I'd like to clarify a few points in your article "Beaver positives outweigh negative impacts on fish" (21 May).

Beavers don't eat fish – they are herbivores, feeding on a range of plants, including grasses, water plants and the bark and leaves of trees. The University of Southampton study shows that interactions between beavers and fish can be complex. Neither the negative, nor the positive effects of beavers are as clear-cut as your article suggests.

Whether beaver dams, sometimes built on narrower rivers and streams, pose a problem to fish depends on a range of circumstances. The same is true of the potential positive effects.

The report will help inform future decisions on whether the European beaver should be permanently reintroduced to Scotland. It will be considered along with the results of the five-year trial reintroduction currently underway in Argyll, the outputs of the new beaver-salmonid working group and a number of other sources of information before a decision is made by Scottish ministers.

MARTIN GAYWOOD

Manager of the Species Action Framework

Scottish Natural Heritage