Male beaver on River Otter, photo David White
Our work with beavers
Beavers on Devon rivers
Devon is in the unique position of being the only county in England with thriving beaver populations on several rivers. In addition to the beavers in the River Otter catchment - whose story is set out in more detail on this page - there are beaver populations confirmed in the River Tamar catchment, the River Taw catchment, and the River Exe catchment.
DWT's beaver conservation team work directly with landowners where beavers are present, finding ways for them to benefit from making space for beaver-created wetlands, and providing practical interventions where beaver activity is causing unwanted impacts.
David Parkyn
Beavers are legally protected in England
On 1 October 2022 the legislation changed to protect wild-living beavers in England, making them a 'European Protected Species' and classifying them as a native animal. Beavers are now protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 which means it is an offence to deliberately capture, injure, kill or disturb beavers, or damage and destroy their breeding sites or resting places without a wildlife management license from Natural England.
You can read the full Government policy paper here.
What we do
On the Otter, the Tamar, the Taw, and the Exe, and anywhere else where beavers are reported, DWT staff share their knowledge and understanding of beavers’ behaviour, and provide the support and assistance local people might need to live alongside beavers again.
We monitor populations, check on beavers’ welfare when necessary, and resolve any conflicts between beavers’ use of the landscape and the needs of landowners and the local community. If you have a query about possible beaver activity near you, please visit our Need help with beavers page.
DWT is grateful to Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Devon Resilience Innovation Project (DRIP) and The Benindi Fund for funding to support our beaver conservation work.
Many thanks also to DWT members and to donors to our Beaver Believers fundraising appeal, which you can click here to support.
Work with landowners where beavers are active on the River Tamar was generously funded by Devon Environment Foundation in the crucial period between the end of the River Otter Beaver Trial and the government consultation on the future of beaver re-introductions in England.