Although Defra, with support from lobby groups including the Angling Trust, has mooted plans to remove the beavers, there appears to be majority public support for leaving the animals on the river and monitoring their progress.

The beavers are the first to be found living wild in England for over 300 years. Although their arrival on the river remains a mystery, Devon Wildlife Trust has said "Anecdotal evidence suggests they may have been resident for several years." Farmer David Lawrence on whose land the beavers were first filmed in January has also said the animals should stay.

The presence of kits (baby beavers) would suggest a breeding group has set up home on the river.

The local Wildlife Trust has called a meeting on Tuesday (19^th August) to discuss the beavers' future at Ottery St Mary, where it hopes to hear residents' views.

Pete Burgess, from Devon Wildlife trust, told ITV News, "It's really important we fully support DEFRA in terms of actually capturing the animals and making sure they're disease free. That's absolutely essential. But where we differ is we want those animals to [be] returned back to these rivers. The community seem to support it at this stage so we want their views about their future on the river."

In line with EU regulations, when a formerly native species becomes re-established in a country, it must be protected as part of the natural range and protected under habitat regulations. However, groups proposing the removal of the Otter's beavers claim they could carry a potentially lethal tapeworm Echinococcus Multilocularis (EM); the UK is currently thought to be free of EM. Beaver experts have said there is an extremely low risk of the animals on the Otter carrying EM.

Defra minister Lord De Mauley confirmed in June that the department has no plans to cull the beavers, despite a request from the Angling Trust, but said they may be re-homed in a "secure environment."

While industry groups have claimed that the English countryside is very different now than it was when wild beavers lived in the country, experts have said the Otter beavers appear to be thriving, and pointed out that the animals were hunted to extinction throughout Britain, and did not die out from habitat loss or other changes to the environment.

The Wildlife Trust said earlier in the month that, although Defra has stated its intention to remove the beavers, "A growing number of voices have stated that the beavers should remain. The beavers' supporters cite the role the animals could potentially play in flood alleviation, water quality improvement and their positive impacts on other wildlife as reasons for them to stay."