NatureScot accused of ‘betrayal’ over delay to release of beavers
A rewilding charity has accused Scotland’s national nature agency of “betrayal” after claiming the organisation has unexpectedly delayed a decision to grant an application to release beavers in Glen Affric.
Trees for Life claims NatureScot has paused a decision to grant the application by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) citing concern among the local community and its representatives.
The charity says the move comes despite two years and three phases of extensive local consultation, which resulted in two-thirds of people involved in the process backing the proposed release subject to conditions.
Trees for Life and FLS are understood to have been working on the Glen Affric proposal for more than two years.
What more is there to consult on?
If approved, the proposal would see the first official release of beavers in the northwest Highlands 400 years after the native species was driven to extinction.
Steve Micklewright, chief executive of Trees for Life, said: “This is an astonishing move by NatureScot.
“After two years of exhaustive consultations that far exceeded the requirements set out by NatureScot, and that they have described as exemplary, one has to ask, what more is there to consult on?
“NatureScot’s mystifying lack of backbone in the face of the nature and climate emergencies betrays so many people in the community who have engaged with this process in good faith and want the hope and renewal beavers would bring.
“The agency’s indecision also flies in the face of a Scottish Government directive to its public agencies to return beavers to suitable new areas of the country, and polls showing three-quarters of Scots want to see public bodies delivering on that.
“Scotland can’t afford its national nature agency to be failing to deliver on its remit on biodiversity in this way. NatureScot needs to be worthy of its name.”
NatureScot should do the right thing and provide full, transparent answers
He added: “Very senior NatureScot managers were endorsing our gold standard approach to public consultation even after the licence application was submitted, so the fear is agency bosses have succumbed to pressure from outside forces.
“NatureScot should do the right thing and provide full, transparent answers to explain its inconsistent behaviour.”
A NatureScot spokesperson said: “NatureScot has carefully considered FLS’s application for a licence to release beavers to Glen Affric National Nature Reserve.
“We recognise the significant efforts that have been made by FLS, Trees for Life and partners to consult with local communities and stakeholders.
“It is clear, however, that the application has been contentious, particularly in relation to farming, crofting and fisheries interests, and that there remains considerable concern about the proposal among the local community and its representatives.
“In light of these concerns, we plan to take the summer to carry out further engagement with those most likely to be affected before any licence decision is made.”
Euan Wiseman, FLS’s north region planning manager, said: “The delay to [the] application decision is disappointing but we can appreciate NatureScot’s position.
“The extensive consultation process that was carried out in partnership with Trees for Life allowed everyone in the community to have their say.
“We listened to the viewpoints of those who did and did not want to participate in the consultation process and incorporated them into our application.
“The consultation process and other inputs helped us to identify where the majority opinion lay and also helped us to develop appropriate and adequate mitigations to address the concerns raised by those who were not in favour of beaver re-introductions.”
