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Eurasian Beaver now legally protected in England
Eurasian beavers have been recognised as a European protected species in England, making it illegal to capture, kill, injure or disturb them, according to the BBC.
The Eurasian beaver or European beaver is a beaver species that was once widespread in Eurasia, but was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum.
The recent move limits measures previously available to "control" beavers.
Landowners will not be able to damage a burrow or dam without a license from Natural England, for example.
Sandra King, chief executive of Beaver Trust, said praising the move: "Beavers bring such an astonishing array of ecosystem services to our landscape, this truly is an historic day for the species in England.”
However, the National Farmers' Union had always objected to beavers becoming a protected species, saying their dams could pose a flooding risk to agricultural land.
"Many farmers will be rightly concerned about the potential impact of beavers on their land so will be asking for adequate tools and support to manage a species that could impact their business and on food production," it said in response to the law change.
Beavers are now a European Protected species under The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
Long-vanished beavers found living wild in UK's Avon catchment
These protections apply to species which are endangered, vulnerable, rare or otherwise at risk across Europe. Other European Protected Species present in the UK include bats, the Large Blue Butterfly, the Sand Lizard and the Natterjack Toad.
Eurasian beavers, which were once widespread but hunted to extinction 400 years ago, have been reintroduced at multiple sites across Britain.
levantnews-BBC
