Help: Websites in favour of culling Devon Beavers

[ganstey]

Hi all,

As part of my uni studies I'm putting together a webpage about an environmental issue, and I have decided to focus on the recent 'rewilding' of beavers in Devon. I've decided to deliberately take the controversial/antagonistic voice, and present it from the viewpoint of a (hypothetical) group campaigning for the destruction of the beavers. I'm struggling to find anything other than the Anglers' Trust website that was in support of culling them, so am hoping that the collective masses here might have stumbled across something. Anything such as news articles, magazine/journal articles, websites, etc. will be useful. At the moment I'm following the line of deliberately misinterpreting the scientific literature, but it would be useful to have another style to draw upon.

Cheers

 

[Tony]

I'll let this stand for now but this could easily turn political so please don't feed things to get a reaction form members, just keep it as a request for websites...

 

[ganstey]

Oops, sorry Tony. I hadn't thought about that. I'm not looking at starting up a conversation as to the rights or wrongs of the issue, just links to anywhere that has covered the issue from that point of view.

 

[petrochemicals]

In breeding is there biggest threat. There is one family in devon, so the kindest thing would be to cull them, move them, or render them infertile. Sooner or later they will have to!

 

[Jackdaw]

Information contained on a website should not be relied upon for degree level work. Why not read up on the scientific literature as it will contain actual reliable, peer reviewed information? The Handbook of British Mammals 4th Ed. would be a good start. Beavers can cause a lot of damage to watercourses and the surrounding vegetation and can cause widespread flooding if they do it in the wrong area. Quantifying this damage in a £ figure will probably be your best approach. Also read up on the Scottish release in Kintyre that hasn't been as successful as previously hoped. As an ecologist I am interested in the interaction of species and the environment amnd and understand that the introduction of any species is llikely to have unintended consequences.

 

[ganstey]

Thanks Jackdaw. Yes, I am reading lots of scientific literature and 'reputable' websites. However, for the purposes of this particular assignment we are asked to look at the way 'pressure groups' present their arguments. After a discussion with my tutor I have decided to take the more interesting approach of trying to produce an 'argument' that goes against the scientific literature, hence looking for non-scientific articles.

Other assignments are specifically about putting forward an argument based on peer-reviewed scientific papers, which is in fact one of the key outcomes of the module, but this is designed to get us to appreciate 'how the other side works'. It will be a deliberately controversial webpage, but will only be visible to me and my tutor (who will be marking it), as it will be created on the student area of the university's website.

And just to reiterate, I'm not looking to discuss the issue of whether the beavers should be left, or removed, on here, I'm merely looking for references.

 

[Jackdaw]

Got it. Had a quick look and couldn't see anything that would fit the bill. Most pressure groups present their arguments from both sides with a veneer of science to back up their argument. It's why you tend to go round in circles with them. Take the badger cull for instance; both sides argue vociferously that their approach is the right way to deal with bTB whilst claiming the other is using flawed science to back their argument. Give me a bat detector and I'm happy!

 

[Pterodaktyl]

I think you've set yourself quite a challenge here - I suspect one of the reasons Defra are allowing the beavers to stay on the river is the lack of any strong opposition voices. I've certainly seen little or no negative coverage in the local press which, for comparison, frequently runs pro badger cull pieces.

 

[jackcbr]

You might be better off looking at somewhere like Canada to see some anti beaver articles. Some communities out there want them moved

 

[ganstey]

Thanks for all your replies. I suspected that would be the case, but thought I'd ask anyway. I've been doing a literature search and come up with a few papers relating to Canadian populations, but hadn't thought of searching their 'printed' media. Thanks. I think I'm going to have some fun making up unsubstantiated claims, and misinterpreting scientific papers okenest:

 

[bushwacker bob]

What is your working title? 'Beavers be Damned'?

 

[Goatboy]

What is your working title? 'Beavers be Damned'?

Hehe, or he could go with "Beavers; stem the flow"

 

[Joe tahkahikew]

What is your working title? 'Beavers be Damned'?

:You_Rock_

 

[Joe tahkahikew]

I seem to remember there is organisations for game keeper and shooting interests in the UK. They may not like beavers.

 

[ganstey]

Don't have a working title yet, but it'll be based on some controversial statement to get the reader hooked!

Joe, do you remember anything relevant in the media over there? I'm thinking there might have been problems with flooding, causing problems for urban areas or highways, or maybe loss of land for arable farming or domestic stock?

 

[Joe tahkahikew]

I'm afraid I don't use the internet too much as we have limited access and the newspapers up here don't write much about beavers down south where they may cause trouble to folk.

There's no farms up here or crops and only one dirt road which don't go too far except winter. short summers and long cold winters. Beaver dams and fallen trees don't bother us - its what they do!

I guess much further south in cottage country (Halliburton?`)where the beavers are returning to old haunts their antics will upset incoming cottage owners and the owners will call for culls like they do every time an some bear wanders into their gardens looking for scraps, or someone complains there are too many moose and stuff.

Some government departments you could look at:
Dpartment of Game and inland fisheries
Department of Environment and fisheries
US Fish and Wildlife service,
Department of fish and game.

Good luck with your project.

 

[ganstey]

Many thanks Joe, I'll take a look.

 

[petrochemicals]

http://dolly.jorgensenweb.net/nordicnature/?p=1967

Seems to say beavers could carry disease even though they have been declared free.

 

[ganstey]

Many thanks Petro. It's quite a balanced discussion, but there are several statements, such as the one you mention, that I can seize upon <evil grin>
Graham

 

[mrcharly]

"A student's hunt for Beaver in the UK"