The last moves: the effect of hunting and culling on the risk of disease spread from a population of reindeer

1. Hunting and culling are frequently used to combat infectious wildlife diseases. The aim is to markedly lower population density in order to limit disease transmission or to eradicate the host. Massive host culling can yield a trade-off when combating wildlife disease; it follows that intrusive actions may have unintended behavioural side-effects, leading to the geographic spread of disease. The manner in which such excessive hunting and culling of hosts can affect the movement and dispersion of cervids has not been studied.

2. In this study, we quantified the behaviour (daily movements and habitat use) and dispersion of GPS-marked reindeer (n = 24) before and during the eradication of an entire population (>2000 reindeer) infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Norway. We compared behaviour and dispersion during 10 ordinary hunting seasons (2007-16), an extended hunt in 2017 and marksmen culling (2017/18).

3. Seasonality had a major impact on movements. Reindeer movem...