TB in Muntjac

re'M'ington

Well-Known Member
Just heard that a farmer local to me had found a dead Muntjac,and for some reason a farmer friend of his had someone from Weston Super Mare pick it up for analysis and it came back as having TB. Now I stalk the area around where it was found and have not found any signs at all of TB in any deer,but wondered if anyone can say if Muntjac are more susceptible than Roe,or even if you have found any with TB.We have a very healthy head of both in the area numbers wise.And as a result of our little chat I may of got a bit more stalking with any luck.....he wants to chat to his brother first(if you don't ask you don't get)

Martin
 
Hi Martin,

Do you know what made them get it analysed? And do you know if this was avian or mammalian TB?

Alex
 
Sorry Alex I don't know either to be honest,but there are a few farmers in the valley that have major trouble with TB in their cattle,so it may be that they just wanted to check it out mate.One of the farmers hasn't been totally clear for years now and he isn't a happy chappy,he does have a hell of a lot of Badgers on and around his land,but,I think some of them have got together for a chat(dangerous)and put two and two together and come up with .....Deer are the culprit! When/if the chap gets back in touch with me or I see him again then I will ask why it was analysed.

regards

Martin
 
To my knowledge Weston Super Mare not a Animal Health or VLA site (I know they have now combined). They have no money so surprised if they are spending money on such things.
 
To my knowledge Weston Super Mare not a Animal Health or VLA site (I know they have now combined). They have no money so surprised if they are spending money on such things.

It's only a guess as he didn't specify who it was but I would of thought it would of been 'Langford veterinary school'.....just a guess though.
 
I had a conversation with a vet in Hampshire two yrs ago, who confirmed that there had been quite a few roe in north Hampshire with tb, who supplied these deer I did not ask, and wish I had.
Apache you may be surprised what they are looking into. Is the rise in TB in some areas, where there are not many badgers caused by deer who knows, but anything is possible.
 
Apache
We have discussed TB via PM's before. This year I have seen a 7% suspected rate of TB in fallow and only 1% in roe. The local AHDO are largely uninterested as they have been for quite some time and seem only concerned whether the pathogen is Avian or Bovine. This year I have had some of the worst cases ever, the pictures of which I use on the level 1 courses we run and often the AHDO don't even bother.

HME
 
It's crazy. I can't believe the apathy associated with what is legally a notifiable disease.

If the disease is rife in deer then we may have another wildlife vector to consider in the control.
 
It certainly is not rife in this area,but we do have an awful lot of badgers.In my opinion,and after a lot of discussion with other stalkers and a lot of farmers it is my belief that even if you do have a large population of badgers on your land if it is a healthy pop. then it won't be a problem,and to show this I shoot foxes for a farmer in my valley that has never had TB in his cattle yet he has an awful lot of badgers,I have lamped the fields for foxes and seen 10 badgers in one 7 acre field with cattle.Another farmer further down and on the other side of the valley has a lot of badgers,and is never clear,he has reactors every time he is checked,now it is obvious that the badgers he has on his farm are definitely not healthy.The Roe/Muntjac in the valley are fairly transient,and I have seen Bucks that I know on all of the different farms and common land in the area,so surely if it was being passed on by Deer then both farmers would be getting reactors....just my take on it.

Martin
 
It is now pretty much understood that deer are 'end hosts' when it comes to the spread of TB. That is infected deer are indicators of disease in an area, but are not considered much of a risk as regarding spread to other species. There is a certain degree of deer to deer spread, mother to offspring, often in milk or by grooming. It is of course possible for deer to spread infection to cattle (eg feeding from cattle haylage feeders at night) or badgers (which may consume parts of infected deer - eg discarded gralloch), but research (NZ, US and Ireland) indicates that it is not a significant risk. Badgers contaminate pasture mainly with contaminated urine. The bacteria is particularly resistant if the ground is wet but is killed quickly in a dry environment. There is a much higher prevalence in fallow and other grazing species of deer than in roe and muntjac because the latter are predominantly browsers and badgers can't **** that high!
 
Back
Top