One of the very real benefits of getting older – and there aren’t many – is not only that you have seen it all before but that you sometimes get to see things that are brand new and have the context to appreciate how rare they are.

I have been writing about the beaver killing in Hopkinton MA for 12 years now. In fact if you want a fun little homework assignment type in Hopkinton in the search box on the right column of the screen and watch how many times it comes up. It is pretty much as regular as clockwork. In fact the very fact that I know how to spell Hopkinton is a testament to the amount of times I have written about them.

Well, today is a first. Hopefully the first of many. And its about dam time.

Letter to the Editor: Beavers at Bloods Pond deserve better

I am writing this letter to inform the town of inhumane practices regarding beaver population management in Hopkinton. Recently, a beaver trap was used in Bloods Pond on South Mill Street to trap and kill a beaver. Despite calls to the Hopkinton Police Department and the Environmental Police, the beaver was kept in the trap for days with no food and limited air, forced to struggle until it died alone.

I am certain this is not the first time this has happened. Based on my own research, the Board of Health issues trapping permits to licensed PAC [problem animal control] agents when beavers have been found to pose a public health and safety threat. In order to follow licensing guidelines, trappers are required to check their traps daily and remove beavers immediately. The Board of Health is also encouraged to explore alternatives to lethal measures prior to issuing a permit for trapping.

You are right about that, honey.

Beavers are a keystone species who increase the biodiversity of wherever they live. My favorite part of every evening is watching the beavers in Bloods Pond glide peacefully through the water, going on their evening swims. The Hopkinton Board of Health must be pushed to enforce humane guidelines surrounding beaver trapping and should revoke trapping licenses when prohibited practices occur. They should also be more transparent about what kinds of alternatives they have explored before resorting to lethal measures so that no more beavers face inhumane and brutal deaths from drowning and starvation.

— Allison Palacios, Hopkinton

ALLISON! You said all the magic words! Watching beavers on the evening swim gracefully across their pond is the best way to become a beaver believer. Good for you. We should have a glass of chardonnay and swap stories sometime.

Things change slowly. But they DO change.