Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 24 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when it will reach a decision on the future of beavers in Scotland.
Scottish Ministers decided on 22 November 2016 that they are minded that the beaver populations in Knapdale in Argyll and in the Tay and Earn catchments can remain in Scotland. The decision is subject to satisfactory completion of a Strategic Environmental Assessment and a Habitats Regulations Assessment which can now be undertaken. The intention is that beavers in Scotland will be given protection under the law as a European Protected Species as soon as is practicable after completion of the Assessment processes.