Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
On Wednesday 5 March 2025, history was made with the first-ever licensed wild beaver release in England at National Trust’s Purbeck nature reserve, Dorset.
This milestone was made possible thanks to the new licensing framework from Natural England and Defra.
While there are already a number of established wild populations in England, this release is the first licensed release of beavers into the wild in England. England’s beaver population remains small, and we need big, bold restoration projects to bring them back at scale.
We caught up with Nature Minister Mary Creagh MP, Marian Spain, and Lloyd Hatton MP after the release to hear what it was like to pull those crate doors up and to see this historic moment first-hand.
On Wednesday 5 March 2025, history was made with the first-ever licensed wild beaver release in England at National Trust’s Purbeck nature reserve, Dorset.
This milestone was made possible thanks to the new licensing framework from Natural England and Defra.
While there are already a number of established wild populations in England, this release is the first licensed release of beavers into the wild in England. England’s beaver population remains small, and we need big, bold restoration projects to bring them back at scale.
We caught up with Nature Minister Mary Creagh MP, Marian Spain, and Lloyd Hatton MP after the release to hear what it was like to pull those crate doors up and to see this historic moment first-hand.
