According to The Irish Times, fishery owner Nicholas Grubb believes that beavers, who were recently reintroduced to Scotland, could play a major role in protecting the dwindling stock of salmon.
“This would be far more economic than continuing to pour vast sums into scientific research while wild salmon stocks continue to decline,” Grubb told the Times.
Grubb is one of the 10 million in Britain and Ireland who watched the reintroduction of beavers by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and learned more of their incredible skill at maintaining wetlands and rivers.
While the Times notes that there is no evidence that beavers were ever native to Ireland, their natural solutions to man-made problems is not new. In fact, the knowledge of beavers’ influence over salmon spawning has been observed for over 200 years.
An eerily similar circumstance to that facing Ireland – salmon populations declining, largely due to pollution and other human impacts – is occurring in California. And there, too, beavers are being looked to as a potential saviour.
Throughout Canada, beavers are trapped and killed for their fur, or when they are considered a nuisance to landowners. The Fur-Bearers solutions for co-existing with beavers ensure that such cruel methods and practices aren’t necessary – and prevent the potential conflict that their dams can create.
As the rest of the world embrace the amazing work and role of beavers in ecosystems, Canada continues to persecute them. We hope that our governments realize this before it’s too late.
Photo by Kerri Martin Photography
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