The River Otter’s beavers will be safer from harm next month after legislation comes into force making them a protected species. 

From October 1 it will be illegal to deliberately capture, kill, disturb or injure beavers, or damage their breeding or resting sites. 

The Devon Wildlife Trust, which led the project to reintroduce wild beavers to the River Otter, has welcomed the development. 

But many Ottery residents are concerned that the new legislation does allow farmers and landowners to apply to Natural England for a special licence to kill beavers, in what the legislation calls ‘lethal control’. 

The county councillor for Otter Valley, Jess Bailey, has written to the East Devon MP Simon Jupp asking him to urge the Government to change its position. 

Her letter said: “It is horrifying that the Government’s guidance allows farmers to apply for a licence for ‘lethal control’... there is absolutely no justification whatsoever for killing beavers when far less extreme and cruel measures could be taken such as relocating beavers and their dams/burrows under a Natural England licence. 

“We are so lucky to have beavers on the River Otter and it makes me really angry to think that a licence could be granted to allow any of our beavers to be killed. I believe many people like me will be strongly opposed to the Government's approach.” 

However, the Devon Wildlife Trust’s beaver project lead Matt Holden thinks the Government guidance, published on Friday, September 2, is structured to give landowners a clear message about what they can and cannot do, and offer alternatives to disturbing or harming wild beavers. It suggests several measures they can take that do not require a licence, with ‘lethal control’ at the bottom of the list. 

He said: “This is not something Natural England are going to grant lightly, and it gives them control over who and where they grant licences to. At this stage there’s no appetite from Natural England for lethal control to take place, but the mechanisms have been put in place should the need arise in the future.  

“We see it as being very much a last resort and we’d hope it’s highly unlikely that that will be necessary for the immediate future. 

“I think the key thing is that, even though that clause is in there, this legislation offers the beavers much more protection than they had before – which was none.”