Protection

Beavers are now protected under Schedule 2 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, making it an offence to deliberately capture, injure, kill or disturb beavers, or damage and destroy their breeding sites or resting places without a wildlife management licence from the statutory nature conservation organisation.

When do I need a wildlife management licence?

Licences are only granted where there is no satisfactory alternative. You must have a licence if you need to:

• Modify or remove a burrow or lodge.
• Modify or remove a dam that is associated with a burrow or lodge.
• Remove a food cache where it is joined to a lodge.
• Cause disturbance that affects a beaver’s ability to survive or breed.
• Transport and release a beaver.
• Kill, injure or capture a beaver.
• Possess a dead beaver or its body parts.
• Sell or exchange, or offer for sale or exchange, a beaver.

If you carry out any of these actions without a licence and are convicted of these offences, you could be handed down a six month prison sentence or an unlimited fine.

You do not need a licence to modify or remove a dam if it is less than two weeks old, or to modify or remove a day rest site.

When do I need to get in touch?

A site’s potential to support beavers is usually identified within a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal / Extended Phase 1 Survey.

If you suspect beavers are present or are unsure if you require a beaver survey, simply get in touch with EcoNorth on 01670 735 547, at enquiries@econorth.co.uk or via our contacts page.

How can EcoNorth help me?

EcoNorth’s team has knowledge of beaver ecology and practical experience in beaver survey work in Scotland and England.

Surveying for beavers involves walking through potential beaver habitat to look for signs of their activities such as lodges, slides, canals, dams and foraging signs.

Camera trap surveying can be useful in ascertaining whether an area is being used by beaver and provide an indication of how the area is being used.

Motion-activated cameras are deployed near beaver field signs and left out for several days before being retrieved; the images are then analysed.

EcoNorth delivers professional, comprehensive reports based on our findings to support your projects planning application or other consenting process whilst maintaining the strictest confidentiality. Any reports produced must remain confidential due to the protection offered to beavers.