Tory report urges payments to farmers to reintroduce lynx and beavers to English countryside

A Conservative think tank is urging ministers to pay farmers to allow the reintroduction of long‑extinct native species such as the lynx and beaver on English farmland, saying the moves could help revive a nature‑depleted countryside while reducing costs for taxpayers.

The report from the Conservative Environment Network recommends that environmental land management (ELM) payments — introduced after Britain left the EU — be used more widely to support reintroductions and habitat restoration. It says species such as the lynx and the pine marten can help control non‑native species including muntjac deer and grey squirrels, while accelerating beaver reintroduction could offer a cheaper natural defence against climate‑fuelled flooding than engineered solutions.

"We regard natural processes that take place ‘over there’ as normal. We must apply the same logic at home," the report's author, Kitty Thompson, wrote in Paradise Regained: The conservative case for restoring English nature. The paper argues that public awareness of which animals are native to Britain has been eroded and that England has been unusually timid about reintroductions compared with other European countries.

The report was delivered to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and is styled as a blueprint for a "truly conservative, pragmatic, and ambitious" approach to rural conservation and food production. It was endorsed by a number of senior Conservatives, including former environment secretaries Michael Gove, George Eustice and Baroness Coffey, and has been backed publicly by shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins.

Thompson cites European examples of coexistence measures: Italy has implemented bear‑proofing in mountainous communities, France's hunting associations contribute to costs from wild boar damage, and Spain compensates sheep farmers for losses caused by lynx. The paper also calls for wider reforms beyond species reintroductions, including changes to water industry regulation to encourage reservoirs and major sewer projects, and the use of post‑Brexit freedoms to permit wider use of gene editing in crops to boost domestic food production.

The report acknowledges that species reintroduction is contentious. Critics warn that lynx, which vanished from Britain more than 1,000 years ago, could take livestock, and that beaver dams can flood productive farmland. The paper argues, however, that restoring natural processes can save public money that would otherwise be spent replicating those functions through engineering.

Environmental groups and farming organisations have previously warned about practical and legal challenges. The report notes delays in establishing a licensing regime for wild beaver releases in England and says the UK is now lagging behind some neighbours. It also highlights that introduced grey squirrels have pushed native red squirrel populations to the brink in many areas, presenting an example of how species shifts have altered ecosystems.

The authors recommend that ELM schemes include options allowing farmers to be compensated for hosting reintroduced species and for managing any resulting damage. They argue these payments would both support farm incomes and deliver public benefits such as flood mitigation, biodiversity recovery and reduced long‑term spending on engineered fixes.

The paper frames its proposals as a way for the Conservative Party to stake a claim as the party of rural stewardship and nature restoration ahead of internal debates about priorities for the environment. It sets out a roadmap addressing water, agriculture, the built environment and rewilding — but it also recognises that achieving reintroductions will require clear licensing, farmer compensation mechanisms and measures to manage conflicts between wildlife and agricultural production.

Ahead of any large‑scale reintroductions, the report and its backers say detailed assessments, local engagement and compensation arrangements should be in place to address farmer and community concerns. The proposals are likely to prompt further debate within rural England about how to balance farming livelihoods, flood resilience and biodiversity recovery.