Here is the extract from his speech,
“Otters are returning to rivers from which they have been
absent for decades. Beavers that have not been seen on some rivers since
Tudor times, massacred for their pelts, are now back – and if that isn’t
Conservatism, my friends, I don’t know what is. Build back beaver!”
But to conflate beavers with otters is well, in a favourite
Johnson word, bonkers. The otter revival happened because a dedicated few
campaigned for 30 years from the 1950's for the abolition of
organophosphates that were slowly driving otters to extinction. It has then
taken a further 30 years for the pesticide, widely used in agriculture, to
leave the food chain. But beavers? These haven’t revived from a very low
base. Do not believe all that guff (another BJ favourite word) about Tudor
times. Bar a few that hung on in Wales no beaver had walked the Southern
Downs since Boadicea until the illegal releases that begun some 20 years
ago which have accelerated exponentially in the past five. A recent study
by the Southwest River Association of their 17 rivers found beavers present
in 10 of which only 3 were licenced for releases.
Even before the speech it was clear Boris was a signed up
member of the Beaver Tendency; the family had bought a beaver for his
father Stanley for release at his Devon home. I’m told the arrival of
the Johnson beaver is currently delayed due to licencing issues but I’m
guessing it is only a matter of time.
I’m afraid I don’t hold out much hope for the consultation
changing the direction of travel; in a decade beavers will be in pretty
well every river catchment, And in a further decade we’ll probably embark
on an expensive culling programme. But, for now, the beaver is the new
ecological Messiah who will have the full protection of the law. If a
beaver invades your river it will become a criminal offence to
interfere with it or the dams it builds. Of course, you will be able to
apply to Natural England for a management licence but we know how that
goes. It took two decades to convince Natural England that cormorants were
a menace. Goodness knows how long they will hold out for the beaver.
Please do consider filling in the consultation form. DEFRA
haven’t made it easy and it is one of those ‘consultations' that is trying
to guide the outcome to a predetermined point. Unbelievably, the final
question asks: “Would you (or an organisation you are involved with)
consider preparing an application for wild release, if the approach proposed
in this consultation became national policy? If yes, please provide the
general location where you might consider applying for such a release.”
You can answer No if you wish but there is no space provided
to explain your reasons for such an answer. That said I’m simply going to
write my reasons for No in the Yes box.
Here is the DEFRA consultation link. Make a strong cup of tea (or something
more potent) before opening.
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