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The population density of moose in some parts of New England might be so high that it is helping winter ticks thrive, and the ticks are sickening and killing off moose. A solution, say some wildlife biologists, is to increase the hunting season. Shoot them to save them, in other words.

This quote says it all:

“It’s counterintuitive,” said Mark Scott the director of wildlife for the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. “What we have to do is lower the hosts for these ticks.”

The whole story from the AP is here.

The number of moose-hunting permits issued by New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have plummeted in the past decade as the moose herd has shrunk – New Hampshire once issued more than 600 a year and now issues fewer than 60.

But that’s changing among our neighbors: “Vermont will issue issue 100 permits for the October hunt, up from 55 last year and zero in 2019. In Maine, the number of moose permits is going to increase 11% this year to 3,480.” New Hampshire hasn’t followed suit, but is looking at the situation.

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