Beavers cut flooding and pollution and boost wildlife populations

Five-year study of animals in Devon finds measurable benefits to wildlife and people

Patrick Barkham

Mon 17 Feb 2020 07.00 GMT

Beavers have alleviated flooding, reduced pollution and boosted populations of fish, amphibians and other wildlife, according to a five-year study of wild-living animals in Devon.

The report, which will help the government decide whether to allow wild beavers to return to England after being hunted to extinction more than 400 years ago, concludes that the species has brought measurable benefits to wildlife and people.

The study, by a team of scientists overseen by Prof Richard Brazier of the University of Exeter, concludes that beavers’ quantifiable benefits on the River Otter, including eco-tourism and “ecosystem services” such as flood alleviation, outweigh costs such as the minor flooding of some farmland.

Continued

Box ticking: Dubious benefits of midges and ticks explored

They are Scotland's most notorious bloodsucking pests, but the Mountaineering Council of Scotland is highlighting the benefits of midges and ticks.

Swatted, warded off with smelly repellent or twisted out with tweezers from where they have burrowed into skin, midges and ticks usually get short shrift by people they encounter.

Midge bites can cause irritating red itchy sores while those of ticks can result in serious, long-lasting medical problems.

But to raise greater awareness of the health risks the latter can pose to human health, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has explored the positive benefits of the tiny pests.

The pros include their importance as a food source for wild birds.

Heather Morning, mountain safety advisor at the MCofS, said there was a serious message behind compiling the list.

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