What evidence is there that deer reduction reduces Lyme disease?
It is well known that without deer there would be no Lyme disease in New England. (Islands with no deer but with all the other animals that can play a role in Lyme disease, have no deer ticks and no Lyme disease.) The question is how many deer can there be without re-starting the deer/deer-tick/Lyme disease cycle again. Over the last 5 years studies have been performed in Maine, Massachussetts and Connecticut to demonstrate what this deer density is. The results are all remarkably similar- around 8 to 10 deer per square mile. The local Connecticut examples were performed in Bridgeport and in Mumford Cove jointly by the DEP and CAES.
