doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com UK pheasants, ticks, and disease

This is an interesting note about an intriguing correlation. I did not realize that ticks and associated disease were such a problem in the UK, or did I imagine the scale of pheasant management.

Anyway, something that might interest those that hunt pheasants.

Pheasants and Borrelia

Just another smoke and mirrors angle of attack dreamt up by our trendy,eco type opponents ........as usual ,little real fact ,just relying on the mud sticking to create an issue.

If somebody here offers you coyotes or turkeys, don’t take ‘em.


Best,
Ted

Deer Stalkers in the UK have been long aware of the incidence of Lyme Disease and the importance of careful tick removal and checking tick bites for the “bullseye” rash that can indicate recent infection.

This is the first time that I have heard it mentioned in connection with released game birds.

Here is an interesting article on the species that act as hosts for the ticks that carry Lyme Disease in the US:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7842935/

That is interesting, Larry. I have never caught or seen a lizard with a tick on it anywhere when working in the south for all of those decades.

It's been known since the 90s that pheasants can host Borrelia Bugdorferi
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9542349/
And quail in the U.S., but the quail don't seem to get sick
The good news is that the same quail eat ticks
https://www.harborcountry-news.com/...a6fbb34-3687-51bf-bfcf-f3676eb0b1f7.html

From https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250421/Pheasants-linked-to-higher-risk-of-Lyme-disease-bacteria-in-ticks.aspx#:~:text=Borrelia%20bacteria%20can%20live%20in,contracting%20and%20retransmitting%20the%20bacteria.
Dr Jolyon Medlock, head of the Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology team at UKHSA, said: "While we have observed an increase in the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease in ticks, we do not have data on the resulting impact on human health, including evidence of Lyme infection."

further north, we're just lucky to have all those critters that are really good hosts for the ticks.
I'm sure that I have found ticks on myself, and particularly on my dogs while hunting pheasants in Iowa. But not nearly as many of them as when hunting grouse and woodcock in northern Wisconsin or the UP.

...and as for 50 MILLION pheasants being released in UK...another headline grabber....

I've read there is a correlation between coyote populations, and ticks and Lyme disease. There is no question they carry fleas, ticks, and other parasites. Another good reason to shoot every coyote you see.