ASI Diary
When Species Collide
Deer, people, and ticks. This lethal combination was the subject of a September 5, 2009 New York Times report about Nantucket, Mass. There, a population of deer (some call them aliens because they are not native to the land) is multiplying. People (equally alien by the same logic) are also proliferating, thus the two species are living unnaturally close to each other.
The beneficiaries of this combination are ticks. Those pesky little vampires are thriving on a banquet of warm blooded hosts. When ticks drink blood that contains the spirochetes responsible for Lyme disease, the infection is passed on to their next host. That is why Nantucket citizens are looking at the deer as the source of their growing problem and wrestling with ways to cope. One popular solution is simply to kill the deer.
The real culprits in these scenarios, though, are people and their voracious appetite for taking land away from wildlife. Animals of all kinds are steadily being condensed into smaller territories and surrounded by people. Deer, rodents, and others, though, find a new source of food in gardens, garbage, and various human discards. Predators would normally keep those populations in check but they retreat, leaving the foragers free to eat, multiply, and provide blood for more ticks.
Tick-borne diseases, loosely called Lyme, include Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia and Ehrlichia. When treated very early these infections succumb to antibiotics. Most people, though, simply pull the tick out of their skin and go on about their lives. Left untreated, the wily spirochetes ultimately find safe places within the host body where antibiotics can't reach them. There they multiply and lie in wait for a moment when the host's immune system is suppressed from physical or emotional causes. That is their moment to swim out to produce symptoms.
Lyme symptoms are as devious as the spirochete's lifestyle. There is no single indicator of an active infection. Instead, Lyme mimics other maladies, including psychological disorders. That leads doctors toward inaccurate diagnosis and improper treatments. Plus, even when a physician wants to explore the possibility, laboratory tests for detecting the presence of Lyme are notoriously inaccurate. Even the National Institute of Health admits that their statistics on the number and disbursement of Lyme infections are inadequate and in reality it may be reaching pandemic proportions.
It is no wonder that given the enormity of the problem and its consequences people become frantic to blame and "do something." If the chain of evidence were accurately followed, though, it would be clear that our developer-driven land use policies are the real culprit. This situation, far from unique, is but one of the many tragic human-animal conflicts resulting from poor community planning and zoning.
Recognizing this and similar deficiencies in our legislative process the Animals and Society Institute publishes the Animal's Platform. This document provides lawmakers and advocates with a reasonable and humane structure for regulations that honor the interests of people and other species. For those living in communities that are at war with their animal neighbors we recommend providing legislators with copies along with your own recommendations. The document is also invaluable as a resource for framing questions addressed to candidates for elective offices. The narrow views of special interests wither under the spotlight of an informed electorate, and all earthlings benefit.
~ John Thompson
Posted on September 23, 2009 at 01:19 am -- Author's Site
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