87 Beavers

87 Beavers is an art project set up by the Scottish Wild Beavers Group and Extinction Rebellion Scotland. The idea is to showcase 87 pieces of beaver inspired artwork to draw attention to the fact that Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has, under licence, killed 87 of Scotland's protected beavers.

Beavers were hunted to extinction 300 years ago and have recently been reintroduced. Their dams can help prevent flooding downstream and can create habitats that are great for wildlife. Beavers became a protected species in Scotland last year but that year 87 were killed by SNH.

As a protected species, beavers should not be killed except in extreme situations where no alternative action is available. It would be possible in most cases to translocate problem beavers to other areas of suitable habitat. It's particularly disturbing that SNH, the country's conservation body, would choose to kill rather than translocate the beavers.

The 87 Beavers website is an example of what I think Extinction Rebellion do best, use art and culture to raise awareness of ecological and environmental issues.

You can view the artworks at 87 Beavers, there are many amazing paintings, drawings and a fine looking chocolate cake! There are also several poems and I'm delighted that one of my poems features at number 37.

There's still time to send in your art work to 87beaversATprotonmailDOTcom by 31 July 2020.

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There's an interesting thread about beavers in Scotland, which you can read on Twitter here.