Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2014, Official Report, column 330W, on beavers: Devon, for what reasons he plans to recapture and rehome the wild beavers in Devon; and if he will make a statement.

Beavers have not been an established part of our wildlife for the last 500 years. Before allowing them to be reintroduced into any location, their impact on a landscape that has changed considerably since they were last present should be assessed. Additionally the UK is currently free from the zoonotic disease Echinocussus multilocularis, a disease which some beavers are believed to host. To be sure that the country's disease free status is not compromised it is necessary to capture and test the animals. However, all decisions will be made with the welfare of the beavers in mind. There are no plans to kill the animals and a site suitable for the animals to be re-homed at is being actively sought.