Approach to beaver management in England
Updated 28 February 2025
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beavers-protection-and-management/protection-and-management-of-beavers-in-england
In England, Eurasian beavers are a European protected species under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, a licence is required to release beavers in England.
Beaver activities
Beavers can:
- improve water quality
- reduce the risk of flooding and drought
- increase biodiversity
- create more resilient landscapes to reduce the impact of climate change
They also dig burrows and channels into banks of waterbodies (for example, a lake, river or stream), fell trees and build lodges and dams. This may cause:
- flooding to adjacent land
- injury to livestock
- damage to crops, property or machinery
Managing beaver activity
Beavers may need to be managed to address issues that could result from their activity and affect:
- people
- land management, such as farming
- the environment
A 5-step approach to beaver management should be followed:
- Engaging with beaver management groups established around wild-living populations, Natural England, and other expert organisations, to learn about the potential benefits of beavers and approaches to manage or minimise challenges.
- Making space for beavers to avoid the need for further actions, such as leaving space around a waterway for beavers to use.
- Taking proactive lawful mitigation and management actions that do not need a licence, such as installing tree guards to protect trees or removing a dam that is less than 2 weeks old.
- Lower-impact licensed actions, such as reducing dam height or removing an established dam outside the breeding season.
- Higher-impact licensed actions that only a specially trained and licensed person can carry out, such as modifying or removing a dam during the breeding season, beaver capture and translocation, or lethal control. Lethal control should only be considered as a last resort.
When managing beavers, you should move through the steps in order, only moving onto the next step once the previous step has been fully considered.
Read guidance on using the 5-step approach to manage beaver activities.
You can continue to carry out normal land management activities like ploughing and cultivating if you have beavers on your land. You must not damage a dam, burrow or lodge while carrying out land management activities.