Pheasants could be spreading Lyme disease, study suggests

Telegraph

22-04-2025

Pheasants released for game hunts may spread Lyme disease, a study has suggested.
Research indicates ticks are more likely to carry the infectious disease in areas where the game birds are found.
About 47 million pheasants are released across Britain every year for shooting.
The plump fowl are known to be particularly susceptible to being infected by ticks carrying the bacteria which causes Lyme disease, and also to retransmitting the bacteria to other ticks that feed on them.
Now research by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and academics at the University of Exeter has found infected ticks were 150 per cent more common in areas with pheasants.
Researchers tested ticks at different ages and found that the proportion containing Borrelia spp. – the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease – was 7.8 per cent in pheasant-release woodlands compared with 3.2 per cent in those without the birds.
Emile Michels, a doctoral candidate at the University of Exeter, said the findings suggested gamekeepers and beaters could have a greater risk of contracting Lyme disease.
Gamekeeper died of Lyme disease
Highland gamekeeper Scott Beattie, 43, died in 2012 after contracting the disease.
Steven Macdonald, from Glen Lyon, caught the disease while working as a deerstalker on the Isle of Lewis, losing five stone in weight before making a recovery.
Andrew Profit, a deerstalker from Criccieth, Gwynedd, lives with near-constant pain because of his Lyme disease.
Mr Michels said: 'Pheasants are known to be competent hosts of Borrelia, meaning they have a relatively high likelihood of contracting and retransmitting the bacteria.
'More research is needed, but our findings suggest there may be an increased risk of potential exposure to Borrelia-infected ticks for people who work in woodlands where pheasants are released in numbers.'
Julia Knight, of Lyme Disease UK, said: 'As ticks now seem to be staying active in some areas throughout the colder months due to our warming climate, it is essential to know what drives the spread of this bacteria.
'Infected ticks have been found all over the UK so awareness is essential for everyone but is especially important for people in high-risk occupations such as gamekeeping.'
Dr Barbara Tschirren, from the University of Exeter, said pheasants, which are not native to Britain, could be making Lyme disease more widespread.
'Our findings are evidence of spillback, where non-native species increase the prevalence of native pathogens,' she said.
'This can be an important route for the emergence of zoonoses [diseases that animals can give to humans].'
Medical entomologist Dr Jolyon Medlock, of UKHSA, added: '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.
'Following these findings, we continue to work with academic partners to better understand what drives Borrelia transmission, including the roles of climate and environmental change.'
However, Roger Seddon, a spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, warned against the findings
'Lyme disease is something that no one should take lightly, but to believe that reducing pheasant numbers will wipe out the disease is total folly,' he said.
'There are many different animal vectors of ticks carrying Lyme-causing bacteria. The proliferation of those ticks is attributed to a wide range of causes such as climate change and local overpopulations of deer,' he added.