The province of Drenthe and the Hunze and Aa’s water board are concerned about the rapid growth of the beaver population in the Northern Netherlands. “There are still two places where we can relocate a beaver. This means that the time is approaching when we have to kill a captured beaver,” they say.
The water board has designated special areas where rodents can settle. These are areas that are above sea level. When beavers dig burrows in dikes or quays in areas below sea level, dangerous flooding can occur.
Earlier this week, a ‘risk beaver’ was transferred from Hunze en Aa’s to a habitat of the Noorderzijlvest water board, but according to the water boards, there are now virtually no places left.
In recent years, beavers have been released in various places in Drenthe. This allowed the beaver population to grow rapidly. “That is positive for nature, but at the same time it is a challenge to limit the damage caused by the beaver,” says the Hunze en Aa’s water board.
That is why the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen, together with all the water boards involved, adopted the beaver management plan in 2021. This plan contains agreements about where beavers are welcome and how they deal with beavers that pose a threat to water safety.
“We always see shooting the beaver as the last option,” says a spokesperson for Natuurmonumenten. “In many places the beaver is an enormous enrichment for the nature reserves. But there are also places where the habitat for the beaver is far from good and where major risks arise for water safety and for the safety of people. Then something has to be done. , as animal-friendly as possible.”
Natuurmonumenten recognizes that relocating beavers is not easy. Especially now that the suitable areas are filling up. “It causes stress for the animal. And where should he go? He cannot just enter the territory of another beaver, then you will get into a fight. You prefer that they spread out naturally.”
Drenthe and Groningen currently have approximately 350 beavers. There are 69 habitats in Drenthe where beavers occur.
So far, ‘problem beavers’ have only been shot in Limburg and Gelderland.