THE reintroduction of beavers into the English countryside would present "no serious threat" to farming and would not damage woodlands, one of the country's leading experts has claimed.

Responding to questions raised by the Western Morning News, conservationist Derek Gow has moved to allay fears that returning the nocturnal rodents to the wild would cause chaos because of damming rivers and creating lodges.

His comments follow the WMN's revelation that South West Water is considering relocating beavers to a 730-acre reservoir in West Devon to combat pollution of drinking water. The dam-building project, at Roadford Lake, is thought to be the most advanced of its kind in returning the native animal to England since the beaver was hunted to extinction in this country hundreds of years ago. At the same time, countryside agency Natural England is considering whether or not to follow Scotland's lead by restoring the European beaver to the wild. The issue is pertinent to the Westcountry as beavers are thought to have a greater chance of surviving – and being contained – among the rivers and heavy woodlands of Devon and Cornwall, making the region ideal for trials.

That beavers have not roamed wild in England for more than 800 years became more widely understood after a six-stone beaver escaped from Mr Gow's animal sanctuary on the Devon-Cornwall border, felling trees in his wake.

Correspondence in the WMN has questioned whether dam-building would flood low-lying farmland, impede the passage of migratory fish and prompt a wave of damaging, unintended consequences. Mr Gow – who points out that beavers were around in England 50 million years before humans arrived – conceded that a balance needed to be struck between the animals "fitting in with human activities" and "our reasonable tolerance of theirs".

But beavers would be a vital cog in the eco-system as activities such as dam-building, tree-felling and lodge creation "positively influence the living prospects of very many other species".

Westcountry-based Mr Gow, who is advising both Natural England and South West Water, said: "European beavers and their activities pose no serious threat to human land use.

"Beaver activity is quite typically confined to a 10 to 30-metre zone from the water's edge. Beaver dams in the 'wrong' location can be easily and cheaply drained or removed, culverts can be averted from blockage by simple wire mesh flow devices and trees can be protected from felling by wire-mesh guards or unobtrusive rubberised sand-paint."

He said in the medium-term, beavers causing localised problems would be "translocated or humanely culled."

Mr Gow, who has travelled Europe since 1994 studying beaver restoration projects and quarantined more than 80 beavers, said humans and beavers could live harmoniously. "Beaver families live in or around large cities and towns such as Munich, Salzburg, Amsterdam and Oslo without any significant effect on human activity."

Controversial plans to restore the beaver were given the go-ahead by the Scottish government last year.