THE European beaver (Castor fiber) is probably the most innocuous of the larger mammals that have been or might be reintroduced to the British countryside. This large, vegetarian rodent with an incredible work ethic has been absent from British waterways for some 400 years, having been hunted to extinction for its fur, castoreum and meat, which is said to taste like grass-fed beef.
This situation was not unique to Britain. The beaver became a threatened species in Europe, its population reaching a frighteningly low 1,200 animals after the Second World War. After a great reintroduction effort, however, the beaver is once again well established across most of its former range and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies its status as of ‘least concern’.
The UK has been slow to
