Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus
Culling wildlife hosts is often implemented as a management technique to control pathogen transmission from wildlife to domestic or other economically important animals. However, culling may have unexpected consequences, can be expensive and may have wider implications for biodiversity and ecosystem...
Published in: | Journal of Applied Ecology |
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Blackwell
2010
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Online Access: | https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/40612/ |
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:40612 2023-05-15T17:07:49+02:00 Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus Harrison, A. Newey, S. Gilbert, Lucy Haydon, D.T. Thirgood, S. 2010-08 https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/40612/ unknown Blackwell Harrison, A., Newey, S., Gilbert, L. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/37047.html> , Haydon, D.T. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/3955.html> and Thirgood, S. (2010) Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus. Journal of Applied Ecology <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Journal_of_Applied_Ecology.html>, 47(4), pp. 926-930. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01834.x <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01834.x>) Articles PeerReviewed 2010 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01834.x 2022-09-22T22:10:11Z Culling wildlife hosts is often implemented as a management technique to control pathogen transmission from wildlife to domestic or other economically important animals. However, culling may have unexpected consequences, can be expensive and may have wider implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. 2. We assess the evidence that culling mountain hares Lepus timidus is an effective and practical way to control louping ill virus in red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus. 3. Evidence from the available literature is limited, restricting our ability to reliably assess the effectiveness of culling mountain hares to control ticks, louping ill virus, or increase red grouse densities. Furthermore, the information required to assess the cost-benefit of this management strategy is lacking. The population response of mountain hares to culling is not well understood and the possible effects on their conservation status and the upland ecosystem remain unexplored. 4. We conclude that there is no compelling evidence base to suggest culling mountain hares might increase red grouse densities. 5. Synthesis and applications. Widespread culling of wildlife is not necessarily effective in reducing disease or improving economic returns. The use of wildlife culls for disease control should be proposed only when: (i) the pathogen transmission cycle is fully understood with all host-vector interactions considered; (ii) the response of wildlife populations to culling is known; and (iii) cost-benefit analysis shows that increased revenue from reduced disease prevalence exceeds the cost of culling. Article in Journal/Newspaper Lepus timidus University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Journal of Applied Ecology 47 4 926 930 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftuglasgow |
language |
unknown |
description |
Culling wildlife hosts is often implemented as a management technique to control pathogen transmission from wildlife to domestic or other economically important animals. However, culling may have unexpected consequences, can be expensive and may have wider implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. 2. We assess the evidence that culling mountain hares Lepus timidus is an effective and practical way to control louping ill virus in red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus. 3. Evidence from the available literature is limited, restricting our ability to reliably assess the effectiveness of culling mountain hares to control ticks, louping ill virus, or increase red grouse densities. Furthermore, the information required to assess the cost-benefit of this management strategy is lacking. The population response of mountain hares to culling is not well understood and the possible effects on their conservation status and the upland ecosystem remain unexplored. 4. We conclude that there is no compelling evidence base to suggest culling mountain hares might increase red grouse densities. 5. Synthesis and applications. Widespread culling of wildlife is not necessarily effective in reducing disease or improving economic returns. The use of wildlife culls for disease control should be proposed only when: (i) the pathogen transmission cycle is fully understood with all host-vector interactions considered; (ii) the response of wildlife populations to culling is known; and (iii) cost-benefit analysis shows that increased revenue from reduced disease prevalence exceeds the cost of culling. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Harrison, A. Newey, S. Gilbert, Lucy Haydon, D.T. Thirgood, S. |
spellingShingle |
Harrison, A. Newey, S. Gilbert, Lucy Haydon, D.T. Thirgood, S. Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus |
author_facet |
Harrison, A. Newey, S. Gilbert, Lucy Haydon, D.T. Thirgood, S. |
author_sort |
Harrison, A. |
title |
Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus |
title_short |
Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus |
title_full |
Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus |
title_fullStr |
Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus |
title_sort |
culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus |
publisher |
Blackwell |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/40612/ |
genre |
Lepus timidus |
genre_facet |
Lepus timidus |
op_relation |
Harrison, A., Newey, S., Gilbert, L. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/37047.html> , Haydon, D.T. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/3955.html> and Thirgood, S. (2010) Culling wildlife hosts to control disease: mountain hares, red grouse and louping ill virus. Journal of Applied Ecology <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Journal_of_Applied_Ecology.html>, 47(4), pp. 926-930. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01834.x <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01834.x>) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01834.x |
container_title |
Journal of Applied Ecology |
container_volume |
47 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
926 |
op_container_end_page |
930 |
_version_ |
1766063331164028928 |