Beaver licensing
Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber, is protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended) (also known as the Habitat Regulations) and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).
Beavers and the law
The law with respect to the protection of beavers in Wales changed on 4 March 2026 following the Beaver (Wales) Order 2026. These changes recognise beaver as a native species in Wales and give it protection as a European Protected Species (EPS).
Beavers as a protected species
Beavers are listed on Schedule 2 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 making them a European Protected Species (EPS). This gives legal protection to beavers and the places they use for breeding and shelter – including their burrows, lodges and dams.
It is against the law to:
- deliberately injure, kill, capture or disturb beavers
- damage or destroy a beaver breeding site or resting place such as a burrow, lodge, or a dam associated with a burrow or lodge
- keep a beaver or parts of a beaver taken from the wild
- possess or transport a beaver
- sell or exchange, or offer a beaver for sale or exchange
Disturbance includes any action likely to impair a beaver’s ability to survive, breed, reproduce or rear kits or significantly affect the local distribution or abundance of beavers. These protections apply wherever beavers are present when an action affecting their breeding site or resting place takes place.
You may be able to get a licence from us for certain specific purposes if the work you want to do is likely to commit an offence.
Most negative impacts caused by beavers occur within roughly 20 metres of the water’s edge, and a range of techniques can be used to prevent or manage their impacts. These include creating naturally vegetated buffer zones to give beavers space, as well as undertaking non-licensable actions that do not require a licence.
NRW is developing a management framework for beavers in Wales which will include our approach to actions you can take which do not require a licence and licensing activities which disturb or damage beavers and their habitats.
Contact us
Please contact NRW for advice on management options and licensing if you need to take action in an areas where beavers are present.
Releasing beavers into the wild
Beavers are listed under Schedule 9 Part 1A (native animals) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This means you need an NRW licence to:
- release beavers into an enclosure, or
- release them into the wild
Applying for a licence to release beavers into the wild or an enclosure
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This means that it is an offence to release them into the wild without a licence. You may also need a licence under the Habitats Regulations.
Guidance issued by Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government in 2011 means that releases into enclosures are considered to be “into the wild” for licensing purposes in Wales. The only exceptions are artificial enclosures in zoos or similar highly controlled environments that are isolated from the natural environment.
If you are planning a wild release or release into an enclosure, we recommend you contact NRW so that we can advise on your proposal.
You must ensure that your proposal is developed in line with the IUCN Guidelines for Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations. An assessment of your proposal against these guidelines will be part of the licensing process. Because enclosure releases are considered to be “into the wild” they will also need to be assessed against these guidelines, including an assessment of the potential consequences of escapes.
You will need to submit the following nine documents. Each should be separate documents or separate sections of a document:
1. Application form for the release of a schedule 9 species
2. Project proposal and method statement
This must set out the objectives and aims of the proposal, key milestones, detailed descriptions of the methods that will be used including how the beavers will be sourced and transported and how their welfare will be ensured.
3. Summary of prior stakeholder engagement
Early engagement with potentially affected landholders, local communities, and other stakeholders, such as those with fishing interests or utility companies with infrastructure in the area, is vital. Explain how you have identified stakeholders, worked with them to understand any concerns and agreed mitigation where required.
Also include any discussions you have had with local environment officers or species specialists from NRW.
4. General risk assessment
This should identify and consider potential impacts, including on:
- local ecosystems
- hydrology and flood risk
- migratory and other fish
- the spread of disease
- neighbouring land
- nearby infrastructure such as roads, railways, or utilities
- water quality and private water supplies
- any protected sites or species that may be affected
If specific concerns have been raised by neighbouring landowners or other stakeholders, you should ensure they are considered in the risk assessment.
5. Veterinary risk assessment
This should use the following format and must be signed-off by a qualified vet:
- Risk assessment
- Risk pathways
- Summary of risk factors
- Summary of mitigation factors
- Summary of key uncertainties/assumptions
- Final risk/likelihood estimation
- Conclusions of the risk assessment
- Summary of veterinary impact/consequences
- Summary of the likelihood
- Veterinary advice and options
- Recommendations
- Executive summary
We will share this with the Welsh Government Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer and ask for their advice as part of the application process.
6. Enclosure specifications and maintenance plan (enclosure releases only)
This must include details of the design and materials of the proposed enclosure and include plans and drawings as necessary. The maintenance plan should set out the inspection and maintenance regime that will be followed for the lifetime of the structure and provide details of any additional security and monitoring measures, such as CCTV.
7. Escape and recapture plan (enclosure releases only)
You must set out how you will respond if beavers escape the enclosure. You will need to confirm that the necessary procedures, personnel, and resources will be in place to promptly locate and recapture any escaped animals. Although this is marked as “enclosure releases only” it may also be relevant for wild releases where there is a need to manage dispersal.
8. Impact mitigation plan (wild release only)
If you are proposing a wild release, you will need to set out a long-term plan for managing any negative impacts on neighbouring land or infrastructure, for instance from damming, tree felling, or burrowing.
9. Exit strategy
This must provide a detailed explanation of what will happen at the close of the project as well as what will happen if the project needs to be ended early. The exit strategy should also set out circumstances that might require early closure and explain how key decisions will be made and by whom.
Following best practice
Applications are more likely to be successful if they follow current best practice guidelines.
The 2013 Captive Management Guidelines for Eurasian Beaver, published by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, provides a useful reference for enclosure proposals, although some elements such as the use of ear tags or electric ‘hotwires’ are no longer considered best practice.
The Eurasian beaver disease risk management and post-release health surveillance protocol, published by Natural England, provides a useful guidance for how to safely translocate Eurasian beavers to England by managing disease risks, ensuring welfare in captivity, and guiding post-release health monitoring.
When you will know if your application has been successful
We aim to determine most species licences within 40 working days of receiving all the necessary information. However, because beaver releases are relatively novel in Wales, they may be considered of high public interest and be subject to public consultation. They also need to be considered under the IUCN Guidelines on Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations. This means we may need longer to make a decision.
You can help us to consider your application quickly by ensuring you have submitted all the information we ask for. We will keep you informed as the determination progresses.