Hundreds of deer to be shot to curb deadly Lyme disease
A TEAM of marksmen is being hired in an attempt to halt the spread of a potentially deadly disease.
Residents on two Scottish islands are turning to gunmen with highpowered hunting rifles to combat Lyme disease, a neurological condition that can cause fever, joint pain, paralysis and even death.
Residents of North and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides are worried that the number of cases has risen ‘exponentially’ in recent years as the deer population of the islands has soared.
Humans typically contract Lyme disease when ticks that live on host animals including deer bite them and expose them to Borrelia bacteria.
Now local crofters are bringing in hired guns to cull hundreds of deer in a move authorised by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).
The deer count on North Uist more than doubled between 1991 and last year, jumping from 517 to 1,045.
The Uist Deer Management Group, set up in 2015, hopes to reduce the number of deer on North Uist to about 500 over five years and has set a similar target for South Uist.
The marksmen must be on SNH’s ‘fit and competent’ register. Regional manager Johanne Fergusson said: ‘Prevalence of Lyme disease is very high compared to the national average. Crofters have come to an arrangement with individual, local hunters who are qualified to shoot deer.’
Every year there are about 200 to 300 cases of Lyme disease in the whole Scottish population, but NHS figures suggest as many as 32 cases a year in the Uists, where there are around 3,000 permanent residents.
The Uist Deer Management Group aims to ‘exclude all deer by whatever means from areas of human settlement, i.e. villages, vicinity of house, gardens, and other isolated places such as village halls’.
Local vets are being warned to look out for ticks on pets and livestock, with SNH stressing deer are not solely responsible.
A spokesman said: ‘There are a range of species carrying ticks, and deer are only part of the problem.’