Could beavers soon be making a re-appearance throughout Pembrokeshire?
In April 2023, the people of Pembrokeshire learned that a solitary little beaver had been seen munching his way through a tree at an undisclosed location in the county.
But what made the sighting even more extraordinary was the fact that beavers had become extinct in Wales since the Middle Ages.
Now, Pembrokeshire's solitary little beaver - who was christened Antony after the British military historian, Antony Beevor - could soon have company, thanks to Natural Resources Wales.
In January 2023 the Welsh Government asked the NRW to carry out a feasibility study on the reintroduction of beavers to Wales. Following the NRW's findings, the Welsh Government has confirmed that it is now considering what has been described as 'a package of proposals', including the exploration of appropriate measures for legally protecting the European beaver, together with numerous policy and management proposals to support its re-appearance throughout the nation.
Meanwhile the Welsh Beaver Project has been investigating the feasibility of bringing wild beavers back to Wales since 2005, as the rodent plays a vital role in enriching biodiversity by restoring and managing river and wetland ecosystems. They are known as a ‘keystone species’ because their activities can benefit a wide range of other animals and plants that live in rivers and wetlands.
They are the second largest living rodent after the capybara and can weigh in at over 50kg or 110 pounds. They have stout bodies and large heads with long, chisel-like incisors, grey or brown fur, front feet that are very similar to human hands while their tails are flat and scaly. They can be found in a range of freshwater habitats such as rivers, streams, lakes and ponds and they munch on tree bark, aquatic plants, grasses and sedges.
Wildlife Trusts are now calling on the Welsh Government to speed up the beavers' return and put in place full legal protection. They are also asking the Welsh Government to pay farmers and land managers to make more space available for water on their land. But the National Farmers' Union has previously expressed concern about beaver dams posing a flooding risk to agricultural land.
Could beavers soon be making a re-appearance throughout Pembrokeshire?
In April 2023, the people of Pembrokeshire learned that a solitary little beaver had been seen munching his way through a tree at an undisclosed location in the county.
But what made the sighting even more extraordinary was the fact that beavers had become extinct in Wales since the Middle Ages.
Now, Pembrokeshire's solitary little beaver - who was christened Antony after the British military historian, Antony Beevor - could soon have company, thanks to Natural Resources Wales.
In January 2023 the Welsh Government asked the NRW to carry out a feasibility study on the reintroduction of beavers to Wales. Following the NRW's findings, the Welsh Government has confirmed that it is now considering what has been described as 'a package of proposals', including the exploration of appropriate measures for legally protecting the European beaver, together with numerous policy and management proposals to support its re-appearance throughout the nation.
Meanwhile the Welsh Beaver Project has been investigating the feasibility of bringing wild beavers back to Wales since 2005, as the rodent plays a vital role in enriching biodiversity by restoring and managing river and wetland ecosystems. They are known as a ‘keystone species’ because their activities can benefit a wide range of other animals and plants that live in rivers and wetlands.
They are the second largest living rodent after the capybara and can weigh in at over 50kg or 110 pounds. They have stout bodies and large heads with long, chisel-like incisors, grey or brown fur, front feet that are very similar to human hands while their tails are flat and scaly. They can be found in a range of freshwater habitats such as rivers, streams, lakes and ponds and they munch on tree bark, aquatic plants, grasses and sedges.
Wildlife Trusts are now calling on the Welsh Government to speed up the beavers' return and put in place full legal protection. They are also asking the Welsh Government to pay farmers and land managers to make more space available for water on their land. But the National Farmers' Union has previously expressed concern about beaver dams posing a flooding risk to agricultural land.