Overview
- Hesse will reimburse recognized beaver damage to farm, forest and fishery businesses by up to 90 percent, with claims from €250 to €25,000 assessed by local forestry offices.
- Environment Minister Ingmar Jung called the payments a question of fairness so land managers are not left paying for the costs of a protected species.
- The Hessian farmers’ association welcomed the support but urged quick, practical processing because fields are flooding, drains are failing and yields are falling.
- Conservation groups BUND and HGON warned a planned exemption could make it easier to scare off or remove beavers and would undercut the species’ strict protection.
- Beaver numbers and damage reports are rising in nearby Thuringia, which now counts roughly 1,100 animals and five times more incidents since 2020, and towns are using wire tree guards and dam drains to control water levels.