How European Beavers Became Extinct In Scotland    

Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland and throughout many parts of Europe, because they were so valuable! Their soft, thick and waterproof fur was highly prized and very fashionable and the fur industry spawned by the beaver was huge.

It is thought that the development of Inverness in the Middle Ages was attributable to its status as a transport and market centre for beaver pelts, whilst much of the exploration of North America was achieved by fur trappers, many of them Scotsmen, from the Hudson Bay Company, scouring the continent for beavers. Beavers were also highly sought after for a secretion called castoreum which was produced in a gland below the tail. This substance was valued for its alleged medicinal properties and more recent analysis of castoreum revealed that it contains salicylic acid, which is derived from the beaver's diet of willow bark. Salicylic acid is an active ingredient of aspirin.

In some areas, beaver meat was an important part of the diet and Roman Catholics were permitted to eat meat from the beaver's tail and paws as a substitute for fish on a Friday. All these pressures led to the beaver's demise in Britain around the sixteenth century. They were not exterminated because they were a pest or were dangerous!

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