Beavers arrive in the Forest of Dean | Perry Hay beaver enclosure

Forestry England has worked in partnership with the Beaver Trust to reintroduce beavers in the Forest of Dean.
Two adult beavers - a male and female - arrived at a 12-hectare enclosure at Perry Hay, near Spruce Ride, on 8 May 2024, where they will build dams to help improve the wetland habitat.

[@richardjones7125]

Amazing work. Well done everyone!

[@LiterallyOverTheHillAdventures]

I have watched numerous videos on beaver being released in the UK, it seems they all are being released into enclosures. Are there any plans to actually release them into areas without enclosures? I am rather confused as to the logic of making basically huge beaver pens.

[@ForestryEnglandWest]

At the moment, legal releases have to be in enclosures. When a change in government policy arrives allowing wild release, each enclosure project will have to be reassessed before the fencing can be removed to understand what the beavers impacts could be on the wider river basin.
There are already (illegally released) wild beavers in Scotland and in south west England