THE Farm Advisory Service has revealed new assets to assist farmers find out about managing land with beavers in Scotland.
The presence of beavers can improve land biodiversity, and proof is already being seen by farmers who’re presently residing alongside them.
In 2021 the Scottish Authorities introduced a coverage change to extend the relocation of beavers throughout Scotland, supporting the enlargement of their inhabitants.
Beavers have been reintroduced to Scotland during the last 20 years after being hunted to extinction within the sixteenth century.
Now, the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) have produced a sequence of case research movies that includes farmers discussing their experiences of implementing beaver administration choices.
Whereas some areas are unsuitable for beavers as a consequence of their panorama, or agricultural worth, there are very best locations all through Scotland the place their presence won’t trigger critical concern to people, infrastructure, or wildlife.
By means of the assets on the FAS web site, farmers can find out about beavers and their potential advantages or adversarial impacts on land.
Farmers can find out about what’s concerned within the beaver relocation course of, in addition to entry interviews with stakeholders akin to NatureScot, Beaver Belief, and The Cairngorms Nationwide Park who talk about their plans to relocate beavers to the Nationwide Park.
Rachel Smillie from SAC Consulting, who helped produce the assets, mentioned: “Beavers are getting loads of press in the intervening time and I’m glad farmers now have these assets, in order that they know what their choices are and the place to seek out extra data.
“When producing the case research movies, we visited farmers who’ve beavers or have seen some beaver exercise on their land. It was nice to see first-hand how they’re residing alongside them, and the administration actions they use to mitigate undesirable impacts.
“The movies showcase that when beavers are in appropriate landscapes, minimal to no intervention is required as their exercise is contained to the wetlands”.
“The movies are additionally an excellent instance of exhibiting the choices out there to farmers after they flip up in unsuitable areas, and the worth of NatureScot’s Beaver Mitigation Scheme in offering help.”
All data on the FAS web site aligns with NatureScot’s beaver mitigation scheme – hyperlinks to additional recommendation might be discovered throughout the assets.