Fur-Bearer Defenders is a non-profit society dedicated to the prevention of cruel trapping. They are located in Vancouver, Canada, and were involved in the Surrey Beaver situation. They have been around for several decades, worked on a couple continents and know all the excuses humans give for harming wildlife. We swaped stories and invited the program coordinator, Fannya Eden, to guest blog.
… The killing hasn’t solved the flood-risk problem, a wildlife advocacy group said. “If one beaver is killed and removed, another beaver will actually move in,” said Fannya Eden, a project co-ordinator for the Fur-Bearer Defenders office in Vancouver. “That will just start the cycle of killing and cruelty.” “When they have family, what do you do? Trap the whole family? Do you take the parents and let the babies die?” Eden said there are various structures made of fencing, posts and tubes that can eliminate flood risk while allowing beavers to remain in their habitat.“It takes a bit of tweaking and care and maintenance to have the structures work,” Eden said. “There are ways we can coexist with beavers. It’s nice to have wildlife in our area and be able to observe them and take joy in watching them.” And beavers, she said, produce ecological benefits.
“Beavers are very important natural engineers,” she said. “They preserve the wetlands.”
We couldn’t agree more, Fannya! Thanks for all you do. It sounds there’s a little more work ahead in Surrey, where they’re now suggesting residents can “adopt” troublesome beavers. This is a cozier idea but still ignores the fact that if the habitat supports beavers, more will come. Let us know if there is anything Worth A Dam can do to help out!
