The British government is considering a plan to release the beaver back into the wild, nearly four centuries after the UK dam-building mammal went extinct. 

In the proposals, described as a cautionary step toward establishing native beaver populations, the animals would be allowed to be introduced if strict criteria were met, along with an assessment of their impact on surrounding land and other species. 

    This comes after a successful five-year trial on the Otter River in Devon, a rural county in south-west England, concluded that a family of beavers had a beneficial effect on the local ecology, which is of extinct origin in England. It was the first legally accepted reproduction for Mammal. 

    “Today marks an important milestone for the reintroduction of beavers in the wild,” Environment Minister George Eustice said Wednesday at the start of a 12-week consultation on the plans. 

    “But we also understand there are implications for landlords, so we are taking a cautious approach to ensure that all potential impacts are carefully considered.” 

    The government said beavers can play an extremely important role in helping to restore nature, building dams out of trees, soil and rocks that raise water levels and creating wetland habitats that support the recovery of a wide range of native species. We do. 

    The semi-aquatic herbivorous mammals were hunted to extinction in Britain about 400 years ago because people wanted their meat, fur and castor, a secretion used in medicine and perfume. 

    The government said it also planned to make it a crime to capture, kill, harass or injure beavers or damage their breeding sites.