In the future, it will be possible to kill up to 23 beavers per year in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. This emerges from the new Beaver Management Ordinance (BMVO), which was presented on Friday.
July 24, 2026, 2:53 p.mJuly 24, 2026, 2:53 p.m
It is intended to provide a “comprehensive and practical legal basis for dealing with the European beaver,” it said. This gives those affected a concrete and legally secure tool, said Provincial Councilor Christian Gantner (ÖVP).
In Vorarlberg, up to 23 beavers are to be shot every year.Image: keystone
The European beaver was considered extinct in Vorarlberg for around 350 years, but animals have settled back in since 2006. There are currently around 400 beavers living in the country, and the number is rising. The animals have spread particularly in the Rhine Valley, the Leiblachtal and parts of the Bregenzerwald; initial evidence is also available in Walgau.
Through its activities such as building dams and felling trees, the beaver promotes a high level of biodiversity and creates and shapes aquatic habitats. However, dam building, digging activities, gnawing and felling of trees and eating crops or garden plants also lead to conflicts. Previously, conflict cases had to be approved and resolved individually. This led to uncertainty, long procedures and high administrative costs.
Killing as a “last resort”
The aim of the regulation is to protect public safety and prevent serious harm, taking into account the favorable conservation status of the European beaver population, said Gantner. “Capturing and killing beavers” is only intended as a “last resort” and is permitted after prior professional assessment by a hunting authority.
The removal is limited to a maximum of 23 beavers per year and must be documented and reported. There is an additional contingent of a maximum of nine animals “for particularly urgent danger situations”. In specially protected areas, only preventive measures are permitted.
“The regulations are not arbitrary, but balanced and technically sound. We maintain a balance between species protection and the protection of settlement areas,” said Gantner. The BMVO does not pursue a general regulatory purpose, but rather creates a legal framework for specific, technically justified measures in cases of conflict.
Permissible all year round are the protection of trees through browsing protection or fences, the securing of banks and embankments or the guidance of beavers when building dams. Interventions in the beavers’ habitat may only take place if preventive measures were demonstrably not possible, effective or reasonable. For example, the removal of dams that are connected to a beaver den or a beaver castle is only permitted under certain conditions. (dab/sda/apa)