Are There Beavers in the UK? The Return of Eurasian Beavers

How beavers disappeared from Britain

The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is a native British mammal. Its bones are found at prehistoric sites across England, Wales and Scotland, and old place names, such as Beverley in Yorkshire, probably come from it.

Beavers were hunted for three things: their thick fur, their meat, and castoreum, an oily secretion from glands near the tail that was valued in medicine and perfume. Numbers fell through the Middle Ages, and beavers were gone from Britain by about the 16th century. The last known historical reference to beavers in England dates from 1526. Across Europe, the species fell to only about 1,200 animals in a handful of isolated populations by the early 20th century.

The return of beavers to Scotland

Scotland led the comeback. In 2009, the Scottish Beaver Trial released beavers from Norway into Knapdale Forest in Argyll, the first official reintroduction of a native mammal species in the UK. Sixteen beavers were released there between 2009 and 2014.

At the same time, another population appeared on the River Tay. These beavers probably came from animals that escaped or were released from private collections, such as the Bamff estate in Perthshire. They were first noticed around 2001 and spread widely through the Tay catchment.

In 2016, the Scottish Government decided that both populations could stay and spread naturally, and in 2019 beavers became a protected species in Scotland. A 2022 survey suggested there were more than 1,500 beavers in Scotland, with beavers now also present around the River Forth and the Trossachs. New releases have since taken place in areas such as Glen Affric and the Cairngorms National Park.

Beavers in England: from the River Otter to wild releases

In England, the first free-living beavers in centuries were noticed on the River Otter in East Devon. Their origin is unknown, but they had been present since at least 2008, and breeding was confirmed in 2014. The government allowed the Devon Wildlife Trust to run the River Otter Beaver Trial from 2015 to 2020, and at the end of it the beavers were given permission to stay.

Many other beavers were released into large fenced enclosures on private estates and nature reserves across England, partly to test how they could reduce flooding and boost wildlife. By 2024, beavers were present in all nine regions of England, and the population was estimated at over 1,000.

In October 2022, beavers became legally protected in England. In early 2025, the government began licensing releases of beavers into the wild. The first legal wild release took place in March 2025 at Purbeck in Dorset.

Are there beavers in Wales and Northern Ireland?

Wales has a small population. A family of beavers has lived in a large enclosure at the Cors Dyfi nature reserve since 2021, and Natural Resources Wales confirmed in 2024 that a few beavers also live free in Welsh rivers. In 2024, the Welsh Government announced support for protecting existing beavers and for managed releases.

There are no wild beavers in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, and it is not known for certain whether beavers ever lived on the island.

Why bring beavers back?

Beavers are often called ecosystem engineers. They build dams that turn small streams into ponds and wetlands, which provide homes for water voles, otters, frogs, dragonflies, bats and many birds. Their ponds slow floodwater, store water during dry spells and trap silt and pollution. Learn how this works in why do beavers build dams?

Studies of the British trials found more wetland wildlife and smaller flood peaks downstream of beaver dams. There are also costs: beavers can flood farmland, block drains and fell trees that landowners value. This is why releases in Britain are licensed and come with management plans.

Eurasian beaver vs North American beaver

Britain’s beavers are Eurasian beavers, not the North American species described in our North American beaver profile. The two are so alike that they are hard to tell apart in the field.

Because of their different chromosome numbers, the two species do not interbreed. North American beavers were released in Finland in 1937 and still live there. The European Union now lists the North American beaver as an invasive alien species, so only Eurasian beavers are used for releases in Europe and Britain.

Where can you see beavers in the UK?

Beavers are mostly active at dusk and at night, so they are not easy to spot. Signs are much easier to find: gnawed tree stumps with a pencil-point shape, peeled sticks, dams, lodges and muddy slides into the water. Good places include the Knapdale area and the Tay catchment in Scotland and the River Otter in Devon. Many wildlife trusts run guided beaver walks. Always watch quietly from a distance and keep dogs on a lead near beaver sites. If you enjoy spotting riverside wildlife, see also are there otters in the UK?