Beaver Regulations Petition: BUND & NABU See Promising Start in State Parliament

State parliament petition against new beaver regulations gets off to a promising start

February 12, 2026 – A joint state parliament petition by BUND and NABU to protect beavers and against the targeted killing of animals in Baden-Württemberg has already collected more than 3,500 signatures within a week. That’s over a third of the 10,000 signatures needed for the petition to be successful. The aim of the petition is to withdraw the new beaver regulation that the state government published at the end of January. Both associations see it as an unnecessary step backwards, which endangers functioning beaver management in the country, creates legal uncertainty and does not reduce bureaucracy, but only relocates it. With the help of the petition, BUND and NABU want to ensure that the state parliament has to deal with the regulation. Co-signings are possible until March 20th.

Sylvia Pilarsky-Grosch, state chairwoman of BUND Baden-Württemberg:
“With their support, people can send a strong signal in the current state parliament election campaign that nature and species protection must not be sacrificed for pseudo-solutions to reduce bureaucracy. Both the economy and society depend on the preservation of our livelihoods. The beaver is an ally in this regard. Its construction activities create ecologically high-quality areas free of charge. We should see animals as an opportunity in the fight against species extinction and the climate crisis, instead of focusing on a few conflicts for which there are already established solutions.”

Johannes Enssle, state chairman of NABU Baden-Württemberg:
“The regulation makes the work of the volunteer beaver advisors more difficult because short-term false solutions are promised through supposedly simple shootings. In reality, the regulation does not create sustainable solutions, but rather new legal uncertainties. This creates not less, but more bureaucracy. Please support our petition now to protect the beaver in Baden-Württemberg so that the beaver retains its right to live in our waters.”

Main points of criticism from BUND and NABU regarding the beaver regulation:

• Doubtful requirement and justification

To date, there has not been a single documented case in the country in which the shooting of a beaver has solved a conflict in the long term, because the territories are quickly occupied by new beavers. The new regulation will not reduce bureaucracy, but will only shift it to the lower authorities, who will then have to contend with legal uncertainties.

• Threats to beaver management

Killing beavers only calms conflicts in the short term at best, but not in the long term. But this is what the well-functioning beaver management in the country relies on. The regulation makes the work of the volunteer beaver advisors more difficult because it promises a short-term pseudo-solution by supposedly simply shooting them. Many of those who are committed will end their involvement out of frustration and a lack of acceptance.

• Regression in nature, species and climate protection

The beaver is a keystone species with significant positive effects on aquatic ecology, biodiversity, natural climate protection and climate adaptation. Given the critical situation in these areas, it is negligent that the regulation endangers these free services provided by beavers.

• Legal uncertainty and foreseeable illegality

The Beaver Ordinance remains so vague in many places that it leads to considerable legal uncertainty. Exceptions to species protection law must always be clearly justified, proportionate and examined on a case-by-case basis. The planned instrument of the general decree, on the other hand, cannot be formulated in a legally secure manner and presents the lower nature conservation authorities with a task that is almost impossible to solve. Anyone who kills beavers in reliance on the beaver regulations can be personally liable and, in the worst case, can face criminal proceedings in court. The administrative court there stopped a comparable general order in Bavaria. The result: even more bureaucracy.

Give space and strengthen beaver management

With the help of the petition, BUND and NABU are calling on the state government to move away from the new beaver regulation and to focus on sustainable solutions. This includes:

• to strengthen natural water bodies and floodplain landscapes and to prevent structural interventions and intensive use up close to the bank embankments,
• to strengthen the established Biber management with its long-term solutions in terms of personnel and finances and to use its instruments, such as: B. the protection of trees with wire trousers or the exchange of areas should be applied consistently,
• to accept the beaver as a native species and to recognize its positive contributions to renaturation instead of focusing on a few conflicts.

Background:

On January 20th, the state government agreed on the “Ordinance for Protection against Disturbances by Beavers” (BiberVO) and argued that it would be able to intervene more unbureaucratically in conflicts with infrastructure and agricultural and forestry use in the habitats of the estimated 12,400 beavers in the state. To date, killing beavers has only been possible with individual exceptional permits. The species is strictly protected by the Federal Nature Conservation Act and the European Fauna-Flora-Habitat (FFH) Directive. Conflicts with beavers can also be resolved without the Beaver Ordinance – this is shown by the well-functioning beaver management in the country so far.

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