100 beavers set to be reintroduced to the UK this year, with more to come

Beavers could soon be coming to a river near you.

The semi-aquatic rodents disappeared from the UK more than 400 years ago after being hunted for their meat, fur and musk. With beavers playing important roles in creating wetlands, shaping forests and capturing carbon, nature has suffered as a result.

Growing recognition of their importance led to the first official UK beaver reintroductions in 2009, but there was a catch – they could only be kept in enclosures or closely monitored areas. However, after a change in UK Government policy last year beavers can now be legally released into the wild in both England and Scotland.

Following the first wild release of beavers in England on the National Trust’s Purbeck Estate last year, more beavers are now following in their footsteps. The Trust has now released two groups of Eurasian beavers on its Holnicote Estate in Somerset, with more set to be released in the coming days.

The manager of this project, Ben Eardley, said the releases formed part of the charity’s plans “to restore a huge swathe of Somerset countryside and moorland to help bring back nature.”

“Beavers are extraordinary partners in our work to restore nature at scale,” Ben says. “Over the last few years we’ve seen how their dams and wetlands transform the landscape, create habitat and help buffer both floods and drought.”

“These ecosystem engineers play a vital role in slowing water flow, creating and holding wetland habitats, reducing erosion, improving water quality and the habitats they create will support a wide range of species.”

At the same time, two pairs of beavers were reintroduced by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT), with the animals being released into the catchment of Par and Fowey rivers in mid-Cornwall. It’s part of plans by its umbrella organisation, the Wildlife Trusts, to release more beavers across the country.

Dr Rob Stoneman, director of landscape recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, says that the release is “a historic moment”.

“This wild beaver release has gone through the formal application process and, in doing so, it paves the way for more to follow,” Rob says. “It signals a major step forward following many years of The Wildlife Trusts and others making the case for the return of this wonderful, keystone species that can do so much to benefit society.”

“If other applications go to plan, Wildlife Trusts hope to be able to release around 100 beavers into seven rivers this year.” 

How were beavers reintroduced to the UK?

The story of the Eurasian beaver’s reintroduction to the UK is a long one, with more than its fair share of intrigue.

Reports of beavers in Scotland first emerged in the early 2000s, when the rodents were spotted in the River Tay. Their origins aren’t quite clear, but are believed to be the result of escapees from legal enclosures and unofficial releases by ‘rogue rewilders’.

Fast forward to 2009, and the Scottish Government launched a study to investigate the impact of reintroducing beavers. They released a group of 15 the rodents into western Scotland as part of a five-year-long project.

At around the same time, beavers also reappeared hundreds of miles away on the River Otter in Devon, southern England. Although there were initially plans to capture the rogue beavers, public support led to the animals becoming part of a monitoring project instead.

Support for beavers took another step forward in 2016, when the Scottish Government declared that all wild beavers in the nation would be allowed to remain. Three years later, they were declared a protected species in Scotland, with England following suit in 2022.

All this time, both official and unofficial beaver reintroductions were continuing across the country. Beavers first returned to an enclosure in London in 2022, with several more pairs being introduced across the city in the years that followed. Meanwhile, increasing beaver populations in southwest England were linked to unauthorised releases by persons unknown.

In February 2025, the UK Government announced that a change in the law would now allow beavers to be licensed for wild release in England. Successful applications need to explain the benefits of releasing beavers, and how any possible impacts on local landowners will be managed, so that the needs of people and planet can be balanced.

Where are beavers being reintroduced next?

Following the three licensed releases of beavers that have taken place so far, more are planned in the coming years. Natural England has invited nine projects in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Kent, the Isle of Wight and Cumbria to apply for wild release licenses.

Another 21 projects are currently being developed, with the potential to release beavers into some of England’s largest rivers such as the Humber, the Severn and the Thames.

In Scotland, up to four families of beavers will be reintroduced in the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve, while the Abriachan Forest Trust are set to be release beavers on the trust’s land in the catchment of the River Beauly. NatureScot has also invited other groups to apply for release licenses for their own projects.

In Wales, meanwhile, legislation to make beavers a protected species and reform how they are licensed has recently been introduced to the Welsh Parliament. The only part of the UK where beaver releases are not currently being considered is in Northern Ireland, as beavers are not believed to have lived there.

UK Government’s Nature Minister, Mary Creagh, adds that she is looking forward to future beaver releases.

“Beavers bring extraordinary benefits to our natural landscapes – they create havens for other wildlife, help reduce the impact of flood and droughts, and improve water quality in our rivers,” Mary says.

“The return of beavers is a vital part of this government’s mission to protect and restore nature. I look forward to these projects getting going”.