European Beaver although once native is “not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state,” therefore re-introduction to the wild would require a licence under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Such powers to grant licences under section 16 were transferred to Natural England in October 2006. Once established in the wild the beaver would be subject to the provision of the Habitat Directive. There will be a need to establish a mechanism for derogation from article 16 to allow capture or culling of individual ‘problem beavers’. Dams and lodges should not be protected.   

England, as a constituent part of the United Kingdom, is a signatory to a number of European and international conventions that commit the government to furthering the conservation and promotion of biodiversity. The European Union Habitats Directive lists the beaver in Annex IV as a species requiring strict protection. The directive also states:

"In implementing the provisions of this Directive, Member States shall:
(a) study the desirability of re-introducing species in Annex IV that are native to their territory."

By undertaking a re-introduction project, England would be assisting the international effort to protect and conserve the status of a species officially recognised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as ‘vulnerable,’ due to the population size and threat of future decline. Beavers are also a protected species under of the terms of the Bern Convention for the Conservation of European Wildlife and Habitats.