Should licensed, controlled reintroductions of native species like beavers be expanded to rewild more UK areas?

Beavers, extinct in Britain for centuries, have been reintroduced through licensed trials in Scotland since 2009 and England since the 2010s, with growing wild populations in places like Devon and Tayside. Their dams reduce flood peaks by up to 60%, filter sediment, and boost biodiversity, cutting the need for expensive hard flood defences that cost the UK £2.6 billion yearly. Recent controversy arose in 2026 when a Reform UK-led Leicestershire council backed beaver releases for flood control despite the party's internal divisions over broader rewilding and farmer concerns about impacts on land use.