2023-11-22 12:39:00
Beavers cause flooding on a road and safety problems in Cul-des-Sarts (in the province of Namur). According to our colleagues from L’Avenir, the operation of a wastewater treatment plant is also disrupted, and rodents risk causing trees to fall onto a road.
A road is thus flooded for around 50 meters because the beavers have created a large dam on the Eau Noire section, at the corner of rue Rosine and rue Saint-Nicolas in Cul-des-Sarts. A dam which therefore obstructs the watercourse. For its part, the municipality had decided to place barriers to prevent motorists from passing through.
“There are some who take detours, but me, my brother lives on the other side. If I have to start doing the whole center of Cul-des-Sarts, that makes me 7 km more for nothing. So, I still pass. We just moved the barriers,” a resident told us.
These animals also pose problems for flooded meadows and woodlots. The operation of the Inasep wastewater treatment plant is also disrupted by overflows.
Beavers also attacked several trees along a road. There is therefore a risk that one of them will fall onto the road.
How to intervene? The authorities have decided not to destroy the dam because it will be quickly rebuilt. In recent days, a special exemption has been granted by the Walloon administration to cull beavers. A very rare decision because the beaver is a strictly protected species. Public safety is a priority in this case.
“The beaver is a protected species, in the sense of nature conservation. There is a possibility of introducing an exemption. They are treated on a case by case basis, and the current case is exceptional”explains Antoine Porsont, a forestry officer from the Department of Nature and Forests. “The dismantling of the dam will be done via the municipality of Couvin and the elimination of the species will be done by our agents who are sworn and hold a license to carry a weapon.”
When the beavers have been eliminated from the place called “La Rosine”, the dam will be removed by the municipal services of Couvin.
cul-des-sarts province of namur
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