I am writing this letter to inform the town of inhumane practices regarding beaver population management in Hopkinton. Recently, a beaver trap was used in Bloods Pond on South Mill Street to trap and kill a beaver. Despite calls to the Hopkinton Police Department and the Environmental Police, the beaver was kept in the trap for days with no food and limited air, forced to struggle until it died alone.
I am certain this is not the first time this has happened. Based on my own research, the Board of Health issues trapping permits to licensed PAC [problem animal control] agents when beavers have been found to pose a public health and safety threat. In order to follow licensing guidelines, trappers are required to check their traps daily and remove beavers immediately. The Board of Health is also encouraged to explore alternatives to lethal measures prior to issuing a permit for trapping.
Beavers are a keystone species who increase the biodiversity of wherever they live. My favorite part of every evening is watching the beavers in Bloods Pond glide peacefully through the water, going on their evening swims. The Hopkinton Board of Health must be pushed to enforce humane guidelines surrounding beaver trapping and should revoke trapping licenses when prohibited practices occur. They should also be more transparent about what kinds of alternatives they have explored before resorting to lethal measures so that no more beavers face inhumane and brutal deaths from drowning and starvation.
— Allison Palacios, Hopkinton
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The DPW requested an emergency permit from the Health Department, as the beaver dam was accelerating the deterioration of the South Mill roadway and culvert. The Health Department issued the emergency permit. Contrary to perception, the municipality’s trapper set and cleared the trap daily. This fact was confirmed by the DPW, Health Director and Commonwealth. The process was completed in accordance with state regulations.
As a resident on Bloods Pond, this is a major concern as the pond is part of the resident’s private property all along that pond. This is hardly an emergency and better practices exist.
Shaun, those beavers have been in this pond for over a decade and the entire neighborhood has been able to enjoy them. It’s to the point where they all have names (Justin Beaver and family). They have never been deemed a nuisance. Each year during late spring, the DPW has cleared the debris from the spillways enabling the pond levels to go down. What has changed this year and why weren’t the property owners notified?
There is a discrepancy from what you are saying and what the residents have witnessed. In addition to what is described in this LTE, a bloods pond resident witnessed the trapper putting traps on their property, so she alerted him that he was in fact on private property. He was extremely rude and accused her children of putting sticks in the traps. The traps are the least humane avenue available and whoever was involved in this should be ashamed. Inhumane extermination of animals that have peacefully co existed in this private pond (which is also part of protected wetlands habitat) for long lengths of time is lazy, cruel, and disgraceful.
We are the residents whose property borders the pond near the South Mill Street spillway, where the recent beaver trapping occurred. We are writing to express our deep sadness, frustration, and concern about how this situation was handled.
The beaver family had built a small dam within the boundaries of our private property. They had been living there long before we moved in, and our children lovingly named them “Mr. Porcaro and the family,” after our street name. For the past three years, we watched them with joy and saw them as a cherished part of the natural environment we were proud to live alongside.
At no point were we informed that traps would be set, let alone that this would result in the beavers being killed. Several weeks ago, my husband witnessed someone tampering with the dam and tried to intervene. The individual told him to take it up with responsible department. A few days later, on a rainy day, I saw two men in matching rain gear walking toward the dam area. Yesterday(06/20/2025), to our horror, we learned that the beaver family had been trapped and killed.
This all took place on our private property. We were never consulted, notified, or asked for permission. While we understand the importance of public safety and infrastructure maintenance, we believe there were other, more humane and transparent ways to address this situation, especially with proper communication and respect for private landowners.
We are also alarmed by the potential danger posed by setting traps in an area frequently visited by families, children, and pets. People often fish and kayak in the pond, and we’ve seen dogs resting on nearby rocks while out on walks. Setting lethal traps in such a public and accessible area is reckless and puts both animals and people at risk.
We are grateful to our neighbors who are advocating for accountability and pushing for more humane and responsible practices. We remain committed to following up and supporting all efforts to ensure that something like this never happens again.
Hopkinton can and must do better.