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Baby beaver fever

Scottish Beaver Trial announces beaver kit sightings

The Scottish Beaver Trial, the UK’s only licensed re-introduction of Eurasion beavers, has announced that it has spotted five newly-born beavers – known as kits.

The trial is taking place in Argyll and there are currently guided tours of the site, offering visitors the opportunity to learn about the re-introduction project and see the new beaver kits themselves.

Each tour is led by a trained expert, who is able to teach the visitors how to spot tell-tale beaver feeding signs whilst also talking about all of the other wildlife that lives within the site.

“The arrival of new kits means that the beavers have bred every year of the Scottish Beaver Trial," said Roisin Campbell-Palmer, the trial's field operations manager. "We are now attempting to establish exactly how many there are in total – but five have been observed so far.”

Speaking about the new born kits being spotted, Simon Jones, project manager for the trial, commented: "This is great news for the Scottish Beaver Trial and for local tourism, as more people will want to travel to Argyll to come on our guided walks for a chance to see the new arrivals.”

A partnership between Scottish Wildlife Trust, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and Forestry Commission Scotland, the trial is the first licensed mammal re-introduction to ever take place in the UK.

It is set to run until May 2014, at which point the findings will be passed onto the Scottish Government to will decide whether or not to continue with beaver re-introductions in Scotland.

Image courtesy of Royal Zoologial Society of Scotland

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Voting opens for BEVA Council

News Story 1
 Eligible members of BEVA will be able to vote for their Council team until Monday, 17 August 2026. Members will have received an election email on 17 July.

There are five candidates standing for four available places on Council. They are:

  • Alexandre Triguino
  • Angela Jones
  • Beth Bryant
  • Holly Rees
  • Hugh Somerville
Full profiles for each candidate can be found on the BEVA website

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Government releases latest bluetongue statistics

APHA has confirmed the number of bluetongue cases that have been logged in the UK since 1 July 2026.

The total number of BTV-3 cases, as of 6 August, is 187. This includes 183 cases in England and four cases in Wales.

There have been no recorded cases in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The location of premises in Great Britain where at least one animal has tested positive by PCR for BTV-3, BTV-8 or BTV-12 is available on the bluetongue case map. All livestock keepers in Great Britain are urged to familiarise themselves with nation-specific bluetongue control policies.

Bluetongue virus is a notifiable disease. It is a legal requirement that any suspicions, even if livestock has been vaccinated, are reported immediately.