Highland beaver release blocked after Kate Forbes stepped in

The National

18-05-2025

A BID to release beavers in the Highlands was delayed after intensive lobbying by farmers and landowners prompted an intervention by the local MSP and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, The Ferret can reveal.
Emails released under Freedom of Information law disclose why the wildlife agency, NatureScot, ­postponed a long-awaited plan to move beavers into Loch Beinn A' Mheadhoin in Glen Affric.
Forbes, the National Farmers ­Union in Scotland (NFUS) and ­local ­landowners privately piled pressure on the agency to derail a beaver licence application by the ­Government's Forestry and Land Scotland.
The tree-felling, dam-building, semi-aquatic mammals were due to start being released in spring 2025. But NatureScot announced in April that it would 'take the summer' for more consultations because there was 'considerable concern about the proposal among the local community and its representatives'.
Campaigners have condemned the delay as 'ministerial ­appeasement of the NFUS at the expense of Scotland's nature'. They dubbed the revelations 'beavergate', saying they raised 'urgent questions about behind-the-scenes lobbying and hidden voices'.
Forbes, however, defended her role as a local MSP relaying concerns of constituents to 'relevant public ­bodies'. Her status as Deputy First Minister was 'immaterial to progressing constituency casework', she said.
NatureScot accepted the ­delay could cause 'frustration', and ­promised a 'short and focused' ­engagement on 'specific impacts'. The planned release was '­contentious' and there was 'ministerial interest', it said.
Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland in the 16th century. They were accidentally or illegally released in Tayside before 2006, and are now thought to number more than 2000 along the Tay and the Forth.
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In 2019, the Tayside beavers were given legal protection by the Scottish Government. But ­farmers and ­landowners, who feared the ­damage they could cause by flooding, were ­licensed to shoot 352 of them between 2019 and 2022.
In 2021, Green MSP Lorna ­Slater, then biodiversity minister, ­announced a change of policy aimed at allowing beavers to be moved to other parts of Scotland instead of being shot. Authorised releases have since taken place at Loch Lomond and in the Cairngorms.
In March 2022 Slater asked ­Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) to identify land it owned suitable for reintroducing beavers. Working with the rewilding campaign group, Trees for Life, FLS developed a proposal to release up to four beaver families on land it owns in Glen Affric, above the Beinn A' Mheadhoin dam.
The Ferret reported in ­October 2023 that FLS had postponed ­applying for a beaver release ­licence following ­opposition from ­landowners, backed by Forbes. It wasn't until January 2025, after two years of ­consultations, that FLS finally submitted its full licence application to NatureScot.
What happened next has now been revealed by more than 80 pages of emails ­released by NatureScot in response to a freedom of information request by The Ferret.
Local farmers and land managers, whose names have been redacted, wrote a series of angry letters, ­urging NatureScot to reject the licence ­application.
They expressed alarm about the damage that beavers might do to ­riverbanks and salmon ­spawning ­areas. They complained that beavers had already been illegally released downstream at Strathglass, and ­criticised the consultations as biased.
Forbes wrote to NatureScot in ­January, also saying that ­constituents were worried that beaver dams could harm salmon spawning beds. She asked for the matter to be ­investigated.
NatureScot told NFUS it didn't 'normally' seek comments on ­licence applications, but was '­happy' to receive them from farmers. On February 28, 2025, NFUS wrote to ­NatureScot expressing 'serious ­concerns', calling for a 'pause' and requesting a meeting.
The letter argued that, if ­released, beavers would quickly move ­downstream from Glen Affric to a 'high conflict area of productive ­agricultural land'. It criticised Trees for Life and FLS for 'poor' and ­'inflammatory' responses to farmers' concerns.
'Pausing the processing of this ­application, or even better ­postponing it for, say, a year, will show a ­willingness by NatureScot to address the genuine concerns of those most likely to be impacted,' NFUS argued.
'Our members have engaged with their local parliamentarian Kate Forbes MSP, Deputy First ­Minister, who is in discussion with Mairi Gougeon MSP, Minister for Rural ­Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, and has advised that the Scottish Government will be looking into the matter.'
After receiving the letter from NFUS, one senior NatureScot ­official told a colleague that it would be ­assessed. 'The case is considered ­novel and contentious so when we have completed, we will pass by ­ministers, who will take an interest,' the official wrote.
NFUS chased up its letter and its demands on March 12 and again on March 31. NatureScot announced the decision to delay the Glen Affric beaver application on April 2, prompting accusations of a 'great beaver betrayal' from campaigners.
Trees for Life called on ­NatureScot to explain its actions. 'This ­growing beavergate controversy raises urgent questions around the ­behind-the-scenes lobbying and ­hidden voices seeking to block ­Scotland's nature recovery,' chief ­executive Steve Micklewright told The Ferret.
'Exactly what part has Kate Forbes played in this sorry saga? Is she ­willing to meet and engage ­positively with rewilding organisations, or should we give up asking?'
Micklewright argued that the issue went beyond the multiple benefits of bringing beavers back to Glen Affric.
'It goes to the heart of why the Scottish Government keeps ­hitting the pause button on restoring ­biodiversity, and whether NatureScot can show the leadership to fulfil its purpose,' he said.
'NatureScot now needs to show it can lead on nature recovery with vision and integrity – including by standing up to high-powered anti-nature lobbying. And all of our government ministers need to show that they fully support ­NatureScot in that.'
According to the Scottish Wild ­Beaver Group, which campaigns to protect beavers, it was 'really ­disheartening' to see Forbes use her influence to halt a beaver licensing process which had been conducted with 'high community consultation standards'.
The group's James Nairne said: 'It seems to mark yet another example of ministerial appeasement of the NFUS at the expense of Scotland's nature, and raises serious questions about how committed this government is to Scotland's beaver strategy and the Scottish biodiversity strategy more generally.'
Malcolm Wield, a former ­forest manager who has lived close to Strathglass since 1993, claimed that a lot of local people were 'excited' at the idea of having beavers in the area. 'Even if many often feel the need to keep their heads down, their views have to count too,' he said.
'Undemocratic intervention by the Deputy First Minister on such an important issue is unfair and ­demonstrates total disregard for the breadth of views here, not to mention biodiversity.'
Forbes stressed her role as a constituency MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
'I am obligated to relay ­constituency concerns and queries to the relevant public bodies and I'm proud to work hard on behalf of my constituents,' she told The Ferret.
'When multiple local residents in Glen Affric expressed concerns about the introduction of beavers at drop-in surgeries, I raised those in my ­constituency capacity with the ­relevant public bodies.
'This is ­consistent with the approach I would take on any issue, from healthcare to wildlife.'
She added: 'My status as ­Deputy First Minister is immaterial to ­progressing constituency casework, and any ­suggestion to the contrary puts my constituents at a ­disadvantage.'
NatureScot insisted it was ­'absolutely committed' to ­expanding the beaver population across ­Scotland for the benefit of biodiversity.
'We understand that there may be frustration around the timeframe for this licensing decision,' said a ­spokesperson.
'This short and focused engagement will be on the specific impacts on land and fisheries managers and the mitigation and management ­available to them.'
NatureScot pointed out that ­Scottish ministers could modify or ­revoke beaver licensing decisions, and it had to keep them briefed on 'any novel or contentious issues'.
NatureScot's delay was backed by the Scottish Government.
'Given the concerns from the ­local community, it is only right that ­NatureScot take the time to undertake further engagement with land and fisheries managers,' said a spokesperson.
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'The Scottish Government ­supports the targeted reintroduction of beaver populations where appropriate.
'We want to make sure that where translocations take place, measures are put in place to ensure rural people and beavers are able to thrive.'
Forestry and Land Scotland described the delay to releasing beavers in Glen Affric as 'disappointing' but said it could appreciate NatureScot's position. Consultations were extensive and allowed everyone in the local community to have their say, it argued.
'The consultation process and other inputs helped us to identify where the majority opinion lay. It also helped us to develop appropriate and adequate mitigations to address the concerns raised by those who were not in favour of beaver reintroductions,' said north region planning manager, Euan Wiseman.
The National Farmers Union in Scotland said its members were ­committed to helping nature ­restoration.
'Local farmers and crofters highlighted concerns in relation to the Glen Affric beaver release to their MSP representative,' confirmed a spokesperson.