Disease

Bluetongue claims about 1,000 Idaho whitetails

Officials in Eastern Washington, Idaho and northeastern Oregon said they were unprepared to make estimates on the toll the continuing bluetongue outbreak plaguing deer in the region was taking on big game. Washington officials still aren't attempting to take a stab at numbers other than saying it's the most widespread bluetongue outbreak they've documented.

Based on continuing reports of dead deer, Fish and Game officials estimate up to 1,000 whitetails have died from an outbreak of bluetongue, a virus transmitted by gnats that is similar to Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in Idaho alone. It is difficult to get the exact number of diseased or dead animals, but the outbreak is not expected to significantly reduce whitetail populations.

The Clearwater area had a large-scale outbreak of EHD in 2003, and Fish and Game officials estimated up to 10,000 whitetails died. There were smaller local EHD outbreaks in the last five years.

Wildlife

Uk Deer Numbers Spiralling Out Of Control

Current efforts to control Britain's increasing deer numbers are not enough to stop populations spreading out of control, according to research by the University of East Anglia.

There are now more deer in Britain than at any time since the Ice Age.

Without natural predators, populations are continuing to rise, causing a serious threat to biodiversity. High numbers of deer can threaten woodland birds, carry infections such as Lyme disease, damage crops and cause road traffic accidents.

Wildlife

Outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) has produced more than 8,500 confirmed deer deaths in Michigan, USA this year.

Disease

An outbreak of epizootic haemorrhagic disease among the deer population in southern Michigan, USA is killing the animals in large numbers. The disease is spread by small flies that bite the deer.

A mutated strain of bird flu has jumped species, killing 162 seals along the New England, USA coast between last September and December.