The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has said it is ‘incredibly disappointed’ by the Government’s announcement that reintroducing wildlife species is not a priority.
On Friday, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirmed that the Government would not be prioritising reintroductions but was instead focused on increasing biodiversity through habitat restoration and reducing pressures from pollution. This puts in doubt the planned reintroduction of beavers to the Isle of Wight next year. The Trust has claimed there is widespread support for beaver reintroduction on the Isle of Wight, with 89% of respondents to a Trust survey stating that they felt positive about beavers being released on the Island. However, local farmers have expressed doubts about the impact of beavers on their agricultural land, as previously reported by Island Echo. A spokesperson for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has said:
“This U-turn by government adds further uncertainty for nature’s recovery and continues to undermine its own ‘world-leading’ set of environmental legislation and its 25-Year Environment Plan. “Every species has a role to play in the complex jigsaw of our natural world. The recent State of Nature Report revealed that one in six species is at risk of extinction in the UK. And if we don’t urgently reverse this worrying trend of decline, our ecosystem will eventually collapse. “In particular, the Trust has long called for – and will continue to do so – the managed wild release of beavers on the Isle of Wight and elsewhere in order to tackle the biodiversity and pollution crises, and to capitalise on the many societal benefits of wild-living beavers. “Beavers are a keystone species which means that they play a crucial role in how an ecosystem functions. By building dams, digging ditches and coppicing trees, beavers can alter their surroundings, creating large areas of wetland, slowing the flow of streams and rivers, protecting the land downriver from flooding and improving water quality. These restored wetlands also provide essential habitat for a wealth of plants and other animals such as otters and water voles. “Reintroducing wild-living beavers would help achieve the government’s priorities of reducing pollution and increasing biodiversity with minimal costs to the taxpayer.”
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