Cattle Welfare: Tick-Borne Disease Management

Tick infestations and tick-borne diseases cause significant welfare suffering in cattle, requiring integrated management approaches for prevention and control.

Key Facts

Ixodes ricinus is the primary cattle tick in UK upland areas
Louping ill (transmitted by ticks) causes neurological disease and death in naive cattle
Redwater fever (Babesia) causes haemolytic anaemia and welfare suffering
Tick-borne fever suppresses immune function making cattle more susceptible to other diseases
Acaricide treatment and pasture management are the primary control tools

Welfare Considerations

Cattle heavily infested with ticks experience skin irritation, anaemia from blood loss, and suffer from tick-borne diseases. Louping ill causes neurological symptoms including ataxia, seizures, and death in naive animals exposed to infected ticks. Redwater fever causes acute haemolytic anaemia with rapid deterioration. Tick-borne fever immuno-suppression amplifies the welfare impact of concurrent infections. Welfare-conscious tick management combines strategic acaricide treatment, pasture rotation to break tick life cycles, and vaccination against louping ill in high-risk areas.

What You Can Do

Advocate for integrated tick management standards in upland cattle welfare guidance
Support vaccination programmes against louping ill in tick-endemic areas
Encourage strategic acaricide treatment protocols based on tick burden monitoring
Back NatureScot and CABI research into tick control for livestock welfare
Choose beef from farms with documented tick and disease management programmes