Assessment of the situation in our study areas regarding risk factors for bTB maintenance.

*Due to organizational reasons, sampling took place only during the 2010/11 hunting season. Apparent prevalence was calculated based on combined results of PCR investigations on tissue samples and of isolation attempts of M. bovis and/or M. caprae. Methods for estimating population densities were: capture-resight (Geneva); calculations by the first author using data obtained by direct counts conducted by game wardens in the Swiss National Park, where hunting is prohibited (Grisons; for this canton, no data from the exact location of sampling regions were available); head-light counts (Saint Gall and Liechtenstein). The situation regarding risk factors within the study areas was assessed by a telephone survey among hunting officials. The following questions were asked: (1) Do aggregation sites exist, where wild boar and/or red deer frequently gather in high numbers?; (2) Is supplemental feeding of wild boar and/or red deer permitted and/or commonly practiced?; (3) Is offal of hunted wild boar and red deer regularly left in the fields?; (4) Are there areas of private property where wild boar and red deer are intensively managed and hunted? (similar to the hunting industry abroad, e.g. in Spain).