Species Reintroduction Feasibility Study

The full report and a summary of the report are now available! The mapping outputs are available on our online mapping system. Please note that the mapping is only indicative of areas that may be suitable for different types of nature recovery. Any projects wishing to undertake reintroduction in any area MUST always involve landowners, land managers and local stakeholders from the outset to ensure local ownership and involvement.

In response to the climate and ecological emergency, Cornwall Council is committed to working with residents and partners to grow nature - so that it is bigger, better and more joined up.

Cornwall's draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy outlines our developing proposals for how we can achieve this. By creating, protecting, enhancing and restoring a Cornwall Nature Recovery Network, we can help restore ecosystem and human health whilst bolstering the foundations for a prosperous Cornish economy.

One way to do this is to restore lost wildlife back into Cornwall. We commissioned a study into the benefits and challenges of reintroducing species that once lived here. We looked at: beavers, water voles, red squirrels, pine martens, wild boar and wildcats. This is not a plan by Cornwall Council to reintroduce any of the animals, nor is it a statement of intent on behalf of any other organisations.

How can the report be used?

The idea is that the report acts as a toolkit for reintroduction projects, providing a good level of evidence to kickstart a full project proposal. It is really important that projects work with the local communities and existing wildlife when considering adding something new.

What did the study find?

An incredible 943 of you responded to our survey, and have therefore helped to shape this study, so thank you! From this we found that of those who responded to the survey, a large majority were in support of reintroducing water voles (95%), red squirrels (94%), beavers (88%) and pine martens (82%). There was less support for wildcats (69%) and wild boar (59%).

Further information

If you want to learn more about living with beavers, or need information and support about beavers on your land, you can get advice and support via Beaver Management.