There are some grim advances on the effort to get the farmer-fueled beaver shootings into the public eye in Scotland. Early in 2015 there were reports of this happening and a flurry of requests for the government to intervene and grant protected status to the animals. After some foot dragging, it looks like they finally found the right words to get it reported by the BBC. I can’t embed the news report but click on the photo to watch it on their sight.
Beavers that were heavily pregnant or had recently given birth are among those shot by landowners in Tayside. The news has led to demands for restrictions on shooting during the breeding season and renewed calls for Scotland’s beavers to receive legal protection
Experts at Edinburgh Zoo have now carried out post-mortem examinations on 23 beavers from Tayside. They concluded that 21 had been shot, although other sources have said the total number of animals killed in this way is significantly higher.
Two pregnant animals were shot. The size and weight of the foetuses indicates they were very near full term
Two other females which were shot had recently given birth
There were concerns about the length of time it would have taken some of the 21 animals to die
At least one animal contained lead shot. It is against the law to use lead shot to kill an animal in water.
Scottish Green MSP Alison Johnstone, deputy convener of Holyrood’s cross-party group on animal welfare, has called on ministers to “get off the fence”.
“Scottish ministers need to get off the fence, accept that beavers have a positive role to play in terms of biodiversity, and that they deserve legal protection.
Go read the whole thing, as this is a fairly thorough report. The FOIA really did its job in finding the grisly facts that would get this noticed. There has been considerable debate amongst the Tayside supporters as to whether it ultimately might make the beavers safer to offer some appropriate way to depredate legally OR whether they should just insist on humane solutions only. I understand the dilemma.
For the record my advice is to emphasize mitigation first, but once humane solutions are exhausted to allow for responsible depredation, because folks need a reminder that there are options if all these good intentions fail. It took me a while to tolerate language like “sometimes trapping is necessary” but I got there. Because it ultimately helps beavers for people to feel like they have an alternative.
I just think it should be a lot harder to get there.
Here’s some of what I wrote for the conclusion of our urban chapter. As I don’t know whether any of it might survive editing, I’m going to share.
It is our hope that in the future, when the inevitable occurs, this chapter can serve as a reminder to fully consider potential benefits and costs before a decision is made regarding the fate of these uninvited guests.While lethal solutions may at times continue to be necessary, we believe our urban waterways are often failed by the inability to recognize other viable options.
We wish our good friends in Scotland the very best of luck figuring this out. But getting the issue into the public eye is, as usual, the most important step.
A follow-up to the Mountain House beaver issue discussed Friday. I heard from the concerned resident who contacted me that she was asked by the official I spoke with to pull together an ad hoc committee to study the arguments.
These two cities share pretty much the same latitude, (a chilly 44) and are merely separated by 1400 miles and a great lake, but they couldn’t be more different. Especially in their attitude towards beaver activity. Funny thing is these stories appeared on the same day and are reporting about the same issue. Demographics are desitny. Let me show you what I mean. I’m thinking we should compare and contrast, and maybe try new toy.
“I want to clarify that regulating a creek does not mean we own it,,” said Hassaan Basit, general manager at CH.
It’s gotten to the point where it’s not just the odd tree,” said Dick Woodruff, a Shorewood City Council Member. “It’s an epidemic.”
“This natural debris can play an important role in natural flood management and introduces important nutrients into the system, supporting its ecological diversity,” he stated.
“The beavers are aggressively taking down trees,” many of which have fallen on roads and power lines, Mayor Scott Zerby said.
And although it might look bad, even the dead trees on the ground are good for the environment.
“It is sad to see a big tree chopped down but it does provide opportunities for new trees to grow. It’s cutting down a renewable resource,”
About 36,000 beavers were harvested in the state last year. Officials are discussing which kind of trap would be as pain-free as possible, Brown said.
The waterlogged beaver lodges may begin to shrink, but they won’t entirely disappear because it’s hard to remove a beaver permanently from any Minnesota location.
“Honestly, we accept and appreciate what the beaver does.”
“They’re amazing animals,” Brown said.
I would write something witty about missed opportunities and missed IQ points, but honestly this morning it just bugs the snot outta me. Minnesota sounds a little frightened of the animal lovers, but they clearly have zero idea why beavers matter. And that just means they’re working hard to maintain their state of willful ignorance.
Now for some good news. Our willow fascines and states are waking up from their sleep! Soon they’ll be some LOVELY and alluring new trees in our creek to hopefully summon the beavers back.
Yesterday I happened to really look at their fancy well-funded logo and realized it needed some improvements. Do you think they’ll mind?
If the name Moutain House sounds vaguely familiar it should. In the turmoil of 2008 it had the dubious distinction of appearing in the NYT as the community with the most homes “Under Water” financially. More recently they had other water issues to deal with, when their historic source was cutoff and they had to scramble to find a new one.
I wonder if you can guess how they feel about ‘watersavers’?
Yesterday I received a panicked email from a resident worried that the beavers in Mountain House creek were going to be trapped. Of course the creek was being used by the planned community as a handy drain, and they didn’t want anything backing up the water. She didn’t know who was in charge of the decision to depredate but she said Brian Lucid was on the Community Services District and interested in learning about options.
The appropriately named Brian Lucid is a native San Franciscan and 20-year veteran who served in Iraq before running for a seat on the board. When he actually contacted ME yesterday I was starting to get a little hopeful.
He told me about their concerns and talked about beavers blocking the water and nibbling neighbor’s trees. And I told him how Martinez had dealt with similar concerns a decade ago, and how downtown businesses were worried about flooding, and how we had studied the issue and decided what to do. I told him about the beaver population rebounding all over the state, and getting new beavers very soon if he gets rid of these ones. And I told him how when we decided to install a flow device and let the beavers stay they kept any other beavers from moving into our creek.
“Flow device?” He asked. “What’s that?”
So I told them about controlling vertical growth of a dam, and protecting culverts, and how 10 years ago there was no one trained in this work in the state and we had to bring in Skip Lisle from Vermont to do it for us. But now, there were several people trained in CA and the whole thing would probably cost about 500 for materials. Worth A Dam could even help with a scholarship. I even sent him a copy of Mike’s DVD.
He mentioned that he was a backpacker and appreciated wildlife, and was interested to hear about the role beavers play for salmon, steelhead, groundwater recharge, biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and climate change resilience. We talked about the controversy and the resolution, how our creek never went dry when the beavers were here. How beavers were great for teaching children about nature and science and mentioned our annual beaver festival. Then I sent him a big care package of information and said I would be happy to answer questions or connect him with the answers. I also suggested he might talk to Mark Ross or Lara Delaney to get the city’s perspective. He was eager to talk with his general manager, because in his words “it sounded like a no-brainer”.
Heidi Happy!
Not that this means everything’s solved and Mountain House beavers are out of the woods. It’s just a beginning.Lots of obstacles could hinder Mr. Lucid along the way. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, they say.
But summer has never come without at least one somewhere. So it’s a start.
Then I arranged a speaking date with Pinole Rotary who wanted to hear about the Martinez beavers and get the story first hand. Since there are eager beavers in Rodeo they must be on their way to Pinole next – I say not a moment too soon!
If this photo looks familiar – it should. It appears in the charmingly titled article “What you can shoot, and when you can shoot it” by Maine sportsmen, George Smith. In 2010 he stepped down after 18 years as executive director of the Sportsman Alliance in Maine. And now writes this beloved column for the Bangor Daily News. Apparently, he never had enough time trapping beavers to take his own dam photos. And the paper thought he should just borrow ours without asking.
Martinez Beaver Kit 2008:Cheryl Reynolds
This was taken on June 22, 2008, of our second batch of beaver kits. Funny thing is, it also happens to be the kit Mario chose to paint on his downtown mural that was ordered to be removed. Remember those fun days? And he’s also chosen to add it to the lower left corner of the mural we’re currently trying to get approved. Popular beaver kit that. No wonder the paper snagged it.
I’m sure a charitable person would point out that Mr. Smith probably didn’t go hunting down that trophy photo himself – it was likely inserted by a copy editor or some intern. But we are certain Mr. Smith looked at his own article to see how it read, or shared it with a friend. He must have seen the photo and seen it was unattributed.
So I’m choosing to blame him until further notice.
T in the park day is a huge musical event in Scotland that attracts around 250,000. The venue began in the 90’s and last year had 70,000 of its attendees chose to camp out on sight. The T ain’t for thermoses of the english breakfast variety. It’s for “Tennent’s” the brewery that started the festival.
A BEAVER has been spotted on the site of the T in the Park music festival
It is understood the creature is living on Strathallan Estate in Perthshire, where the event will take place in July.
Beavers were reintroduced to Scotland in 2009 after a 400-year absence.
It is unclear what, if any, effect the animal’s presence will have on the festival layout.
That’s right, an uninvited beaver will ruin the whole thing, obviously. Apparently someone showed a photo of a beaver chewed tree, and now folks are in a panic that the whole event might topple. Fortunately there’s at least ONE wildlife writer who doesn’t think it’s time to panic.
A leading wildlife expert has distanced himself from claims that beavers could topple this summer’s T in the Park festival.
The Scottish Sun today suggested organisers face a new wildlife threat after evidence of beavers at the event’s Strathallan Castle home.
But naturalist Jim Crumley — quoted in The Sun article — said today there is no cause for concern.
“All I have seen as yet is a photograph (of a fallen tree), so I don’t know if this is one beaver passing through or if there is more activity in the area which might suggest a family group,” he said.
Mr Crumley said there are major differences between possible beaver activity at Strathallan and the recent case of a rogue beaver at Pitlochry, which was moved by conservationists last week.
“Unlike the Moulin Burn beaver, which SNH trapped and relocated, there is no problem here,” he said. “And the fact that one beaver has cut down a tree in January does not mean that T in the Park will be overrun inJuly.”
Oh you reasonable fellow! People want a nice panic – must you deny them? It’s a well established factoid that beavers ruin parties. Didn’t you know that?
Unless this year the event is EVEN BIGGER because folks want to come see the beaver!
Onto the new donation from our friends at Nerdy Cute in Olympia Washington. If you have any of those ridiculous kitten posters with that saying “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on” you can go ahead right now and throw them out. Because obviously this is much better.
A follow-up to the Mountain House beaver issue discussed Friday. I heard from the concerned resident who contacted me that she was asked by the official I spoke with to pull together an ad hoc committee to study the arguments.
The appropriately named Brian Lucid is a native San Franciscan and 20-year veteran who served in Iraq before running for a seat on the board. When he actually contacted ME yesterday I was starting to get a little hopeful.
I’m sure a charitable person would point out that Mr. Smith probably didn’t go hunting down that trophy photo himself – it was likely inserted by a copy editor or some intern. But we are certain Mr. Smith looked at his own article to see how it read, or shared it with a friend. He must have seen the photo and seen it was unattributed.
