Given beavers significantly modify landscapes, their activities can lead to conflicts with some types of human land-use and with some sectors. Such conflicts are predominantly related to beavers damming, burrowing and foraging where people don’t want them to. Given that beavers do not like to move far from freshwater, the majority of their activity takes place in the riparian area. This means it is recorded within a 0-30m range of fresh water.

In order to effectively manage the impacts of beavers, follow the 5-step hierarchy outlined below.

Start with Step 1 and only move onto the next step once the option of the previous step has been fully exhausted but has not addressed the issue. 

Step 1: Expert Advice

Contact beaver management and advisory groups active in areas where there are populations of wild beavers, Natural England / NatureScot / Natural Resources Wales and/or other wildlife organisations for expert advice, to learn about the potential benefits of beavers and approaches to manage or minimise the challenges they pose, in order to allow co-existence. 

Step 2: Make Space

Analysis shows that the vast majority of human-beaver conflicts arise within 20m of the water’s edge. This is because this is where the vast majority of beaver activity takes place. Therefore leaving space around a waterbody or along the edge of a watercourse for beavers to use, avoids the need for further action, and maximises the benefits to nature and society.   

Step 3: Take lawful actions not requiring a licence

Take preventative measures that are permitted by law and which do not require a licence such as installing tree guards or fences to protect from beaver browsing, and managing dams that are under two weeks old. 

Step 4: Licensed low-impact actions

Where there is significant impact to property and the problem remains, apply for a licence (or contract a licence-holder) to undertake low-impact licensed actions such as reducing dam height or removing an established dam outside of the breeding season.

Step 5: Higher-impact licensed actions

If low impact licensed actions are not effective, bring in a specially-trained licensed person to carry out higher-impact licensed actions such as modifying or removing a dam during the breeding season, beaver capture and removal, or as a last resort, lethal control.

Click on the boxes below for further information about steps 2 to 5 to learn how to manage the impact of beavers.