Under cover of darkness, a nocturnal creature emerges from a crate and takes its first tentative steps into a new life in the wild.
“It is just essentially God’s work. We’re undoing the damage of hundreds of years ago and bringing back these extraordinary animals,” claimed Ben, who spoke to the BBC on the condition of anonymity.
He is part of an underground network where members risk arrest, jail and hefty fines by carrying out covert and unlicensed releases of beavers.
It is an offence to release beavers into the wild without a licence and a spokeswoman for the National Farmers Union (NFU) said it was “irresponsible” and “really worrying”.
There is now a legal route in the UK for the species to be reintroduced. Despite this and the risks of acting without licences, activists whose names have been changed were unrepentant and said they were taking action themselves because the legal option was “too bureaucratic”.
Like the nocturnal creatures at the heart of their cause, the group he belongs to operates under the cover of darkness.
He said secrecy was key in everything from where other parts of the network got the animals – “we really don’t need to know” – to the clandestine releases.
“You don’t want to be caught with a box of beavers in the boot so you have to be quite quick,” Ben said.
“You open the door, do it and drive away. They are instantly much happier in the water.”
However, the NFU said concerns over unlicensed releases included flooding, tree-gnawing and damage to land and crops.
NFU countryside advisor Poppy Sherborne said illegal releases were “irresponsible”.
“They are really worrying because there has been no process put in place to check that release should be happening,” she said.
“There’s no support for farmers who could be impacted by that release if it’s not happened in the right way.”
When challenged over his actions, Ben said: “I’m unfamiliar with species of animals or species of wildlife, plants or animal that would be badly affected by the presence of beavers… they can reduce risk of flooding, mitigate the damage that a drought can bring. They can help to clean up water.
Det Insp Mark Harrison, of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which supports wildlife crime enforcement across the UK, said he loved nature and visiting rewilding locations but “it has to be done properly”.
He said although there had been prosecutions for illegal species release in England, none had applied to beavers.
“The reason for that is because we’ve got no evidence,” he said, describing the covert nature of releases and the fact beavers could be on site for long periods before they were spotted.
“You commit an offence so there could be consequences for you but you’ve also got to think about the impact on the animal so there could be welfare issues,” he said.
Marie, who is also part of the network, said being part of beaver releases was “one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed”.
Asked about the difficulties beavers could cause for farmers and landowners, she added: “I can understand why it is scary to some people… but there are so many ways that you can maintain control.
“If the landowner wants to protect particular trees, you can make sure that beavers don’t fell an individual tree.
“You can control the water level even and I think beavers can actually bring benefits to farmland too.”
Beavers were hunted to extinction in Britain 400 years ago for their meat, furry water-resistant pelts and a substance they secrete called castoreum – used in food, medicine and perfume.
For a long time, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 regulated the release of “non-native” species, including beavers.
It allowed for licensed releases of beavers – imported from countries including Germany and Norway – into enclosures, of which there are 52 in England, according to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).
But in 2013, video evidence emerged of a wild beaver with young on the River Otter, near Ottery St Mary, Devon.
After public pressure, the population became central to the River Otter Beaver Trial, which resulted in the 15 families being given licensed status.
Their descendants are among upwards of 600 beavers currently roaming free in England, according to Natural England; the majority through unlicensed releases or escapes.
The Beaver Trust’s figure is higher; its “educated estimate” is that there are 1,000 wild beavers in England, mostly in the South West, with a total of 3,500 in England, Wales and Scotland.
In 2022, Eurasian beavers were recognised as a protected species in England, making it illegal to capture, kill, injure or disturb them.
In February 2025, a licensing scheme overseen by Natural England was introduced – without which it is still illegal to introduce or move b
Content adapted by the team from the original source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clygl4dv4rno
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