THE country's biggest farming body says fears over exotic diseases is a key reason why it could not support the controversial re-introduction of beavers in the Westcountry.
Embryonic proposals to employ European beavers at the 730-acre Roadford Lake in rural West Devon is the most advanced scheme in England to return the native species to the wild.
The South West Water plan has been met with scepticism by landowners who are worried about the consequences of felled trees and damaged building.
Prized for their fur, their meat and their scent glands, the rodent was once native to England until hunted to extinction 400 years ago.
Speaking to the Western Morning News, the countryside adviser to the National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the potential spread of viruses, including bluetongue and African horse sickness, was among a number of "big question marks" that loomed large over the plan.
Dr Andrea Graham, who this month visited West Devon with the union's animal health and welfare adviser and its regional environment adviser, is also concerned about a worrying lack of scientific data to support claims the beaver dams will help purify drinking water.
Dr Graham conceded that the ponds, wetlands and meadows formed by beaver dams had exceptional benefits for biodiversity. "You couldn't get a landscape designer to create what they create," she said. But she warned that creating richer habitats was "just one element".
Re-introduction would be a "costly luxury" in the current straitened economic climate, she argued, as the costs allied to beaver management, flood risk and quarantine procedures could be "significant". Halting the decline in existing resident wildlife was of more paramount concern, she added.
Dr Graham said: "The NFU could not support the re-introduction. There are too many question marks over the science available and a lack of information on possible disease. Also, there is still a beaver on the loose. That does not instil us with confidence in the capacity to manage it."
South West Water has said that if its "leap of faith" worked, water bills would come down for households across the region, as beaver dams would be among a parcel of "natural" alternatives to investing tens of millions of pounds in upgrading water treatment facilities.
But the NFU said it had not seen "good scientific evidence" to indicate purification would work. Dr Graham said: "Regarding Roadford Lake, the problem is that South West Water is supporting this in terms of water quality.
"Biodiversity is part of the issue, but they are saying they want to re-introduce beaver to improve the quality of the river. But to date, we have not seen good scientific evidence to show that the beaver would be able to do that."
Other issues included the potential for flooding in low-lying areas, that there were no naturally resident predators of beavers in England, and that beavers, in time, would attain the same protected status as the badger. Disease transmission, a growing concern as "new and emerging exotic diseases continue", was arguably a largely unknown area of potential risk.
She said: "One area we are concerned about is the biosecurity implications that have not been addressed. For example, with climate change, we are beginning to see different diseases. We're talking about diseases such as bluetongue and African horse sickness, transmitted by biting midges. What they like is standing water, and that is the environment beavers create."
"There just is not currently enough science to allay fears of any disease risks for us to put a stamp of approval on it."
The beaver that escaped from an enclosure in West Devon was also worrying.
She said: "You still also have the escapee. The fact it has been on the loose for so long is a bit disappointing."
The NFU was happy to be the bridge between those wanting to re-introduce beavers and landowners by helping to develop forums. Farmers could then be clearer on understanding the impacts because there "seems to be a some serious communications problems. But that's as far as the NFU's support can go."
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