Freedom of Information Request - Scotland's beaver population size over time
Date: 15 January 2025
Our ref: SIR178305/A4917340
Information Request – Scotland's beaver population size over time
Your Request
Please provide the following information regarding the size of the beaver population in Scotland:
The estimated number of beavers in each council area in Scotland in each month from January 2000 to December 2024, inclusive. Within each council area, please provide separate estimates of the number of beavers with different origins, for example, those that were released legally, those that were released illegally, and those that are offspring from the existing population. Please also aggregate these counts across all of Scotland for each month. At both levels (council area and Scotland-wide), in addition to providing different estimated counts by origin, please also provide a combined count of the estimated number of beavers in total regardless of their origin.
Please provide these data in a spreadsheet file to make it easier to analyse them. Thank you very much for your time and help.
Our Response
Following a search of the information we hold our response is below.
Estimated number of beavers in each council area in Scotland in each month from January 2000 to December 2024, inclusive?
We do not hold information on beaver numbers by Local Authority nor monthly figures. This means that EIRs Regulation 10(4)(a) (Information not held) applies to this part of your request.
The information we hold relates to specific surveys. These are outlined below.
Tayside (multiple local Authorities)
NatureScot has a series of published reports on our website. The relevant survey reports for Tayside are listed below. This includes parts of the Tay and Forth catchments.
• Commissioned report
• Beaver population 2017-2018
• Beaver population 2020-2021
A further survey is also underway.
Further to the 2021 survey there have been a number of translocations from parts of Tayside to other parts of the Tay catchment, to the Forth catchment, and to Loch Lomond. These are reported in the following report (see Table 1): Beaver Management Report - January 2023 to April 2024.
Knapdale (Argyll & Bute Council)
The latest population estimates for Knapdale are published in the Scottish Beavers Reinforcement Project’s final report, which is not published by NatureScot. Details are available from SWT website.
There have been further translocations to Knapdale since the final report was published as detailed in Table 1 of the following report: Beaver Management Report - January 2023 to April 2024.
Spey catchment (Highland Council)
There have been translocations of beavers from Tayside to the Spey catchment in 2023 and 2024. To date 33 animals have been translocated, with breeding known to have occurred in 2024.
Beauly catchment (Highland Council)
There are records of beavers living wild on the River Beauly since 2012. NatureScot staff carried out a survey in November 2021. Our estimate in 2021 was two territories and one single animal. The unpublished internal survey report is attached separately, with sensitive species information withheld under EIRs Regulation 10(5)(g) – Protection of the environment.
Within each council area, please provide separate estimates of the number of beavers with different origins?
We do not hold any information on the number of beavers illegally released or have a breakdown of populations originating from different sources, other than as contained in the survey reports highlighted.
Prior to 2012 the only authorised beavers in the wild were those involved in the Scottish Beaver Trial in Knapdale 2009-2014 which were of Norwegian origin.
In 2012 the Minister for the Environment and Climate Change decided to allow the unauthorised beavers present in Tayside to be tolerated whilst their impacts were assessed and in November 2016 they were formally permitted to remain. These beavers are considered to be largely of Bavarian origin. Beavers were granted European Protected Status in Scotland in May 2019. In a recently published Beaver Management report we have noted there has been further expansion of this population in Perth & Kinross Council (Tay/Forth) population into parts of Fife, Stirlingshire, West Lothian and a new survey is underway to assess the current population status.
The beavers present in the Beauly catchment are from unauthorised releases of unknown origin.
Since 2021 Scottish Government has supported the active expansion of beavers to other suitable areas and there have been licenced translocations from Tayside to the River Leven (Loch Lomond), Forth and the upper Spey catchments. Further information is available here.
Aggregate these counts across all of Scotland for each month?
This information is not available. This means that EIRs Regulation 10(4)(a) (Information not held) applies to this part of your request.
At Council area and Scotland-wide, in addition to providing different estimated counts by origin, please also provide a combined count of the estimated number of beavers in total regardless of their origin?
As above we do not hold any information on the number of beavers illegally released or have a breakdown of populations originating from different sources, other than as contained in the survey reports highlighted. Whilst it would be possible to add together the figures from different surveys they are from different time periods and we do not believe would provide an accurate estimate of the total number of beavers currently in Scotland. All beavers in Scotland are considered to be of European origin (Castor fiber).
How We Handled Your Request
We believe you have asked for environmental information as defined in the Environmental Information (Scotland Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’), so we are dealing with your request under those regulations. To be able to use the EIRs, we must apply an exemption under section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’). The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance recommends that public authorities apply this exemption to environmental information and handle request under the EIRs.
If you would like to find out more about the access to information legislation, there is a guidance booklet available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
