Reintroducing wild animals

[Richard Tarleton]

Numbers of areas in UK are either contemplating and or have activated the re-introduction of beavers.
Believe me, this is a serious, serious mistake.
I have travelled in the Tierra del Fuego NP in Patagonia / Chile / Argentina areas, seen the astonishing impact.

Many of these areas are increasingly desperate to get rid of beavers because they have devastated woodland, pasture land on the edge of beaver habitats, allowing flooding, collapsed natural and man-made drainage, costing millions to repair - repairs that cannot be undertaken until the beavers have been removed.

I have photos, listened to accounts of de-population of hitherto useful land because of them.

Beavers are brilliant and very strictly self-serving engineers, and once entrenched are pure and expensive hell to get rid of.

Draco, the problem you describe refers to the introduction (not the re-introduction) of the North American beaver to South America after World War 2. It was not previously native to S America, and had no place in S American ecosystems. It is not relevant to the question of the re-introduction of the Eurasian beaver (a different species, with similar but not identical ecology), to parts of Europe where it was previously native. Of course such an introduction as took place in S America would be an ecological disaster - it would be analagous to the accidental introduction of the coypu into East Anglian wetlands about the same time - these were eventually and quite rightly eradicated- or rabbits or Cain toads to Australia....introductions of non-native species often are disastrous.

I refer you to the Scottish Wildlife Trust's website: https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/species/beaver/

Full disclosure: my French Canadian great grandmother was a lifelong friend of Charles GD Roberts, the "Father of Canadian poetry", who wrote tales of the Canadian backwoods, like The House in the Water, which is about, er, beavers
.



And my Scottish first cousin Geoffrey MacDonell, who fought in the Boer and First World Wars, emigrated to Canada before WWI and worked as a fur trapper

[DracoM]

<< analogous to the accidental introduction of the coypu into East Anglian wetlands about the same time >>

Or the release of minx into waterways etc in my area.

I merely comment on what I SAW, and heard about direct from inhabitants, and the desperate efforts of local authorities in areas to eradicate what has turned out to be a serious damage to their economic well-being - whatever genus of introductions or re-introductions, and for whatever reasons such initiatives have been instituted.

Re-wilding has a fine, almost romantic ring about it, but there are lurking dangers too.

[Richard Tarleton]

Indeed - but what you saw wasn't a re-introduction, it was a disastrous introduction, see my #31 - the difference is key.

From Scottish Wildlife's website.....

Beavers are a ‘keytone species’ within their ecosystem. They create wetlands which provide habitats for a range of wildlife such as water voles, otters, dragonflies and amphibians. They coppice waterside trees and shrubs, letting in light to help plants grow and allowing the scrub to grow back as dense cover for birds and other animals. Beaver dams trap sediment, improve water quality, reduce the risk of flooding downstream, and increase cover for trout and salmon.

And species re-introduction and re-wilding aren't the same thing......kites in the Chilterns

[oddoneout]

Having followed the debate over a period of years, I think my views on this can be summed up as follows - I would rather, at this stage, concentrate on looking after and managing appropriately and effectively what we already have. There is more than enough work to do reconciling the needs/wants of farmers, general public, tourist industry etc for which there is inadequate resource allocation and meaningful( ie actually doing something)political backing for the fauna and flora already around/struggling/at high risk of disappearing, without diverting money and effort into high profile projects, the outcomes of which are not necessarily adequately known(IMO). What happens on mainland Europe doesn't always seem to be directly equivalent to the UK, either in terms of human population density and activity or landscape type.
Something I have noticed over the years with both habitat management and re-introduction projects is that those proposing/implementing such projects either actually ignore or give the impression of so-doing, the views of those who are, or will be, living with the results. I accept that even once things have been explained the general public may still be opposed but if, as is almost certainly the case, they have no knowledge of the (sometimes complex and contradictory) issues to be weighed up, then pushing ahead regardless will not make for a good outcome, and those responsible for the projects will be seen as high-handed and indifferent to the public's concerns. Where that translates into with-holding practical and financial support for the bodies concerned - as I have seen happen locally with habitat projects - that isn't a good outcome for anyone.
The problems of striking a balance, whether it be of managing deer numbers by an introduced top predator or wetland management by beaver by such means can only ever be very local. The rest of the country will still be trying to find a way of reconciling the need to control increasing populations of some animals without incurring the wrath of the fluffy bunny brigade, or indeed putting the general public at risk. In my home county the numbers of deer, of several kinds, have risen dramatically around urban areas, where control by shooting or re-introduction of a top predator isn't feasible, however allowing the numbers to keep increasing isn't good for the health of the animals themselves, and leads to changes in behaviour that bring them increasingly into conflict with human activity - again not good for the deer. Despite the marked rise in raptor numbers, including the return of buzzards and the appearance of increasing numbers of red kite, the pigeon population continues to rise faster and their behaviour is changing to exploit wider sources of food - interesting but not helpful for food growers. The irony to me is that as more questions arise about the ethics and eco implications of meat eating, there is an existing source of 'naturally grown' meat - venison, pigeon,( grey squirrel) which isn't - and won't be - used, other than within the existing game industry. If nothing else wouldn't it be better to feed pets on such meat rather than using industrially raised sources?

[Richard Tarleton]

I agree with a good deal of this. Just to say that money does not have to be "diverted" into high profile projects - a lot can be achieved with small amounts of money that is raised voluntarily and does not come from public funds - projects like reintroducing cranes, great bustards and the original re-introductions of white tailed eagles. I think there's room for both. And somebody has to tell farmers we don't need to give over our uplands to the rearing of sheep, at great cost.

Meat - I agree with you.

Buzzards and kites don't as a rule catch pigeons. That would be peregrines (happily also increasing, including in cities, of their own accord).

On a lighter note, I see the chequered skipper has been successfully reintroduced to England.

[DracoM]

Yes, I agree with much as well, partic:
deer, of several kinds, have risen dramatically around urban areas, where control by shooting or re-introduction of a top predator isn't feasible, however allowing the numbers to keep increasing isn't good for the health of the animals themselves, and leads to changes in behaviour that bring them increasingly into conflict with human activity
............which leads the humans to take up often illegal arms...!

[Serial_Apologist]

Oddoneout raises an important point about local public consultation which is important when the wider general public's benevolently generalised view of conservation matters comes from popular TV programmes like Countryfile, (which imv has been getting better and better of late, btw). In 1995 or 6 I was invited to a public meeting in the village suburb of Cranham, flanked by the M25 to its east and itself on the eastern edge of the Romford and Hornchurch conurbation, bordering the London Green Belt. Residents were up in arms over immediate plans to coppice a nearby wood on council-owned land they claimed was a vital barrier against the sound and pollution from the M25, at that point running along a high embankment. These residents had in fact opposed the building of the final link completing the M25 a decade or more previously, some of them physically, and feelings were high. The organisers of the coppice, the recently established Thames Chase Community Forest, presented their case with the help of slides illustrating coppicing and a map indicating the areas of the wood to be coppiced. We were then taken on a conducted tour of the wood, during which Thames Chase personnel and rangers explained the beneficial consequences of coppicing for ecosystem restoration, pointing out that were this not to take place, the woodland, already seriously neglected as regards management, fire damaged in places and strewn about with rusting vehicles, would become totally impenetrable within a few years, resulting not only in species reductions but access for dog walking still being enjoyed. The last point probably had the strongest effect in changing the minds of most attendees, with only one saying that "We should stop interfering with nature and let God look after what is meant to be"; but the whole exercise was important in terms of lessons in conducting PR before embarking being learned on both sides.

[doversoul1]

The latest
Bears and wolves to coexist in UK woods for first time in 1,000 years

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/16/bears-and-wolves-to-coexist-in-uk-woods-in-conservation-project

[oddoneout]

The latest
Bears and wolves to coexist in UK woods for first time in 1,000 years
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...vation-project

So animals in captivity, albeit with rather more enriched cages. The ranges of both species will be constrained, so any observation of their co-existence won't correlate with 'in the wild'. It is an opportunity for the public to see such animals acting more naturally perhaps but I'm afraid I don't see that it is particularly relevant or useful to the reintroduction debate.

[Serial_Apologist]

So animals in captivity, albeit with rather more enriched cages. The ranges of both species will be constrained, so any observation of their co-existence won't correlate with 'in the wild'. It is an opportunity for the public to see such animals acting more naturally perhaps but I'm afraid I don't see that it is particularly relevant or useful to the reintroduction debate.

[Richard Tarleton]

Basically, a zoo. More Whipsnade or Longleat than Regent's Park, but a zoo.

[doversoul1]

So where does one draw a line between this and the eco-tourism in the Lynx project? Is there any legal base to discriminate between a genuine ecological project and a trendy eco-enterprise like thins one?

[Richard Tarleton]

Well if I read it correctly it has a fence round it, the animals are fed artificially....it's very small, a paddock, for animals which naturally cover huge ranges....as odd says, it doesn't contribute to the debate on rewilding....

[LezLee]

My sister lives in Harrogate and her house backs onto allotments - a paradise for red kites. She's had up to a dozen circling above her house. Such beautiful birds but they're mighty big and scare the wits out of people at the bus-stop.

[Richard Tarleton]

My sister lives in Harrogate and her house backs onto allotments - a paradise for red kites. She's had up to a dozen circling above her house. Such beautiful birds but they're mighty big and scare the wits out of people at the bus-stop.

They are beautiful birds - why on earth anybody would be scared of them I have no idea! Though we do have some funny attitudes to wildlife in this country - in Spain, depending on where in the country you live, you might find yourself watching 100 griffon vultures.....

The other day I photographed a red kite catching small mammals as contractors harvested silage, both of us dodging the tractors....