Environmental/Land Management
In this section we post articles and information that are relevant to land management and the environment. Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting, or if you would like us to include a particular article or study that you have seen, please contact us.
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There have been a limited number of trials and scientific investigations into ticks, their optimum environment and their ability to infest and infect all manner of domestic pet, farm stock and wildlife.
The Journal of Animal Ecology published a study that demonstrated the important role that hare played as suitable hosts for all stages of ticks at two study sites. Where sheep were frequently treated with acaricide, hares then fed the greatest proportion of adult ticks. Hare densities were reduced at the experimental sites between 1993 and 2001 but remained relatively constant at the control site. Both nymph and larvae tick burdens on red grouse chicks declined over this period to very low levels at the treatment site but not at the control site. The estimated size of the tick population at the treatment site decreased by more than 99% by 1999. Further studies by scientists at Oxford University have also shown that in addition to hare, the common grey squirrel and pheasants also act as suitable hosts to transfer infections throughout the tick population.
Modern farming methods have impacted on the tick population. Bracken, which is a favoured habitat of ticks, used to be collected for use as winter bedding for livestock. Since these practice died out, bracken has been increasing in some areas at a rate of 5% per year. Implementing widespread bracken control methods could have a significant impact on the tick population.
The practice of moorland burning has also dwindled and this also has resulted in more tick survival. As another favoured habitat of ticks, moorland supports a large population and therefore burning results in large-scale eradication.
With the success of certain urban wildlife species, and regeneration projects being implemented on wasteland, ticks have a greater opportunity to enter our town parks and gardens. Infected ticks have been sampled from parks such as Richmond and Bushy Park in London. The careful management of parks and gardens can also help reduce tick numbers,
No single strategy is likely to be able to succeed in tick control but a combined approach will offer opportunity to arrest the current increase of tick-borne diseases. Co-operation and communication between landowners, national park rangers, and everyone involved in animal and land management, could achieve a reduction in the cases of disease not only in livestock but also in the human population.
The “Get Involved” section of the BADA-UK website has information about how you can help to raise awareness of this important issue.
Sounds like Scotland are ahead of the game in recognizing the importance of monitoring such infectious diseases, at least on paper that is. I had a look at the Scottish Public Health Report produced by the NHS (http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/publications/annual_reports/public_health/2003/dataset/notifiable_diseases.html) and what do you know, there are no recorded cases for the year I was positively diagnosed as having Lyme disease. Strange!
It would seem to make little sense however to have Lyme disease as notifiable in Scotland and not England. Can’t be so unthinkable for deer to roam from one side of the border to the other. And if certain types of workers are required to notify the Health & Safety Executive, say after a hard day of felling trees, then who’s to say the family taking their dog for a walk through the same wooded area can’t just as easily become infected. And if they are, well, there’s an ‘enhanced’ voluntary monitoring scheme in place, one that takes account of only laboratory confirmed cases. Who keeps a total of those that are given a clinical diagnosis, not requiring laboratory confirmation, are people ever given a clinical diagnosis?
I don’t pretend to know all that will need done, but it was at least encouraging to read from the two studies mentioned that things can indeed be done. A 90% decrease in tick numbers is certainly a good standard to start with. I wonder if these experiments have ever been put into working practice by other co-operatives?
Cadrina
Comment by Cadrina — October 28, 2005 @ 7:13 pm
£2.83m Moorland Regeneration Programme a Success
http://moors.uk.net/shop/index.php?mid=315
Moorland Regeneration Programme
The National Park Authority has coordinated, on behalf of landowners and managers, a Moorland Regeneration Programme which operated from October 1995-Matrch 2001.
The Programme Final Report, published in November 2001 highlights the considerable benefits that have been gained by integrating land management and conservation with a comprehensive funding package.
The success of the Programme lay in recognising that essential moorland management is carried out by the traditional businesses of grouse shooting and sheep farming which were assisted to provide additional benefits to the local economy, wildlife, landscape, communities and the general public.
The moors, although generally of high quality have suffered long term decline. The moors as a whole are not overstocked with sheep and there is starting to be a problem with undergrazing in some parts.
The aim of the Programme was to improve the quality of the moorland habitats and improve the health and quality of sheep and grouse by tackling the effects of sheep ticks and tick-borne diseases to give long term, sustainable economic and environmental benefits.
Developed and steered by a local partnership of grouse moor managers, farmers and conservationists, the Programme was successful in attracting funding of £2.83m from a combination of the European Union Objective 5B fund, the (former) Ministry of Agriculture, private business and the North York Moors National Park Authority, English Nature and the RSPB.
Key achievements were:
·26 estates and up to 117 farmers working together
·7.5% decrease in lamb mortality on the moors equivalent to 2000 extra lambs surviving annually)
·Significant reduction in tick populations and associated disease
·Restoration projects initiated over 409ha
·Large amounts of annual heather burning and bracken control carried out
·Improved infrastructure of moorland tracks, sheep handling facilities and cattle grids
·Sheep Health Scheme
·Awareness and marketing initiatives
·Extensive monitoring including a full vegetation classification, breeding wader surveys (1996 and 2000), heather condition survey (1996) and annual red grouse and economics of hill sheep flocks surveys
Monitoring of wader populations by the Programme has contributed to the national and European designations of 44000ha of the North York Moors. In addition, populations of curlew and lapwing have significantly increased in contrast to a national decline in these species over the period of the Programme.
Although the Programme has now ended, partners remain fully committed to continue working to identify future needs, strengthen the links between moorland management and conservation and seek ways to build on the sound foundations that have been laid. It is important to recognize that environmental improvements take a long time to accrue and five years is but a short time for this.
You can purchase a copy of the Moorland Regeneration Programme Report from our Online Shop or download it from our Reports and Plans section.
Comment by 1scoopor2 — February 4, 2006 @ 11:31 pm
New work is now underway on the North York Moors,in the West country and in Scotland. The results were have not been sustained and I have recently been involved in carrying out risk assessments in the West Country.Publications due early 2009. I am a former National Park Officer at the North York Moors and have been working with tick and tbd management for the last 25 years
Comment by Professor Roy Brown — October 17, 2008 @ 9:27 pm