Wild Moose and Tick Burden: A Growing Welfare Crisis

Climate change is enabling unprecedented winter tick infestations in wild moose populations, causing severe suffering and population declines across North America.

Key Facts

A single moose can carry over 100,000 winter ticks, causing severe blood loss and hypothermia
Winter tick infestations have become a primary cause of moose calf mortality in some regions
Warmer autumns allow more ticks to successfully find hosts before the first killing frost
Heavily infested moose lose massive amounts of fur through scratching, leading to ghost moose appearance
Some populations in the northeastern US have declined by over 40% partly due to tick pressure
Predator control or hunting regulations alone cannot address this climate-driven welfare crisis

Welfare Considerations

The suffering experienced by tick-infested moose is severe and prolonged. Animals lose blood continuously over months, develop anemia, experience intense itching leading to hair loss, and face hypothermia from compromised insulation. Calves are particularly vulnerable, with mortality rates from tick burdens exceeding 70% in some years. This represents a massive welfare problem that is worsening as climate change extends tick survival seasons. While direct intervention is not feasible at population scale, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the most meaningful long-term action. Wildlife managers are exploring population-level monitoring and targeted habitat management to help moose avoid peak tick attachment periods.

What You Can Do

Support climate action policies as the primary driver of tick burden reduction in moose
Follow wildlife agency research on moose population health and tick monitoring programs
Advocate for adequate funding of wildlife disease surveillance including tick-borne threats
Support habitat conservation that maintains diverse forest structure beneficial to moose