Finland launches phased campaign to remove Canadian beavers
Sunday 25th October 2026 on 09:01 in
Finland
Finland will begin reducing its population of Canadian beavers, the only country in the EU where the invasive species is found, Yle reports. The plan aims to remove the species from Finland gradually and make room for the native European beaver.
The Finnish Wildlife Agency, together with the Natural Resources Institute Finland and the University of Turku, has drawn up a population management plan. Hunting will first be stepped up in a zone between Tampere and Seinäjoki, where the ranges of the two beaver species meet. The removal zone will be several dozen kilometres wide.
Once Canadian beavers have been eliminated from that zone, hunting there will stop and a neighbouring reduction zone will become the next removal zone. The plan also includes reduction zones in south-western Finland and Lapland.
Canadian beavers were brought to Finland from North America about a century ago and have spread across most of the country. The species was added to the EU’s list of invasive alien species in summer 2025, requiring Finland to actively limit its spread. The native European beaver is scarce and classified as near threatened.
EU rules will change in August 2027, after which Canadian beavers can be hunted year-round, including during the breeding season, unless Finnish law restricts the practice. National legislation is expected to be prepared during the term of the next government. The rules allow more effective hunting methods than those permitted under the Hunting Act, though restrictions may be set to prevent unnecessary suffering.
The species are difficult to distinguish in the wild; visible differences are limited to the shape of their skulls and tails. Before hunting, a beaver can be identified through a DNA test using a saliva sample taken from fresh feeding marks, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s legislative counsellor Karin Cederlöf said.
Removing an individual that causes damage will also become quicker when restrictions on hunting Canadian beavers are relaxed.