Framingham eradicates colony of beavers after major flooding

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Last Thursday, Framingham officials announced a beaver population in the waters near Singletary Lane had been eradicated. Those beavers caused flooding over the land bridge during the last five weeks, threatening to wash it out.

A city spokesperson says Framingham has expended almost $40,000 in the last several weeks in pumping costs and traffic details to retain the bridge and keep the road open. She said those costs could not be indefinitely sustained.

"With beavers, they're really eco-system engineers," said Holliston Conservation Agent Ryan Clapp.

Clapp says his community and many others in the area have issues with flooding caused by beaver dams.

"And that can go into homeowner's septic systems.... in their basements," said Clapp.

In the case of Singletary Lane, the city says if the land bridge went it would take with it utility lines servicing 300 homes.

Still, the plan to kill the beavers brought opposition from some residents.

"I think that's very sad," said resident Matheus Goncalves.

"I don't think we should be killing any animals... at the end of the day there's always another solution," said Nathalia Fernandes.

That's what animal rights groups argued, as well in their attempts to get Framingham to change its mind.

The Animal Rescue League of Boston said there were humane alternatives. Blunter language from PETA: A slow death by drowning in an underwater trap is a terrifying and painful ordeal for any animal... and beavers take more than 15 minutes to lose consciousness.

Declaring a war against beavers for simply doing what beavers do; PETA called that cruel and foolish.

Clapp says culling beavers is not necessarily a long-term solution.

"They still reproduce, they still exist, they still survive. And actually, beaver populations have really exploded in the last several decades," said Clapp.

In other words, Framingham, they'll probably be back.

The City of Framingham is not without heart in this matter. It announced the deaths of the beavers with regret and pointed out that in the past, it had used a device that managed beaver-related flooding without harming the beavers, but it could not do so this time because the water was too high. The city adds that it will try to avoid removal of beaver populations when it can.

Cox Media Group