Sheep ticks cause direct welfare harm and transmit louping-ill and other diseases. Integrated tick management protects sheep welfare on upland farms.
Tick infestation causes welfare harm through direct blood feeding causing anaemia and skin damage, and through transmission of pathogens including louping-ill virus which causes severe neurological disease and death. Strategic acaricide treatment timed to target nymphal ticks in spring reduces burden effectively. Vaccination against louping-ill provides protection on high-risk ground. Coordinated tick management at landscape scale, including deer management to reduce tick maintenance hosts, provides better control than individual farm efforts alone.