ABSTRACT
Rewilding is a newly fashionable idea that has come to grip one's imaginations. The introduction of the beaver into Devon's rivers is more obviously an example of rewilding, however, although it is very controversial on the ground because this release was not officially sanctioned. The Scottish government has said that it will give the escaped beavers in the Tay and Forth river catchments the full protection of UK and EU law. The only real difference between the reintroduction of the otter and beaver is that of time span, the beaver having vanished from the UK in the 1520s. Thus, re-beavering implies a significant change to those river systems where the animals would now live. It is this change, and its knock-on effects, that make rewilding such a tricky topic. Rewilding Britain and other groups that support the idea, including writers such as George Monbiot, say that rewilding offers hope not just for wildlife, but for humanity and the planet.
