Research
Effects of pharmacological castration on endocrinological and chemical profiles in captive red and fallow deer - The European Zoological Journal, 2023
... We placed a subcutaneous implant of deslorelin acetate (4.7 mg) on four male red deer (Cervus elaphus) and two male fallow deer (Dama dama) (N = 6) living together in a mixed-sex and -species group housed at a wildlife rescue centre in Tuscany, Italy ... In conclusion, our preliminary findings suggest that deslorelin acetate, causing a decrease of testosterone level and impacting the chemical profile of odour secretions, could work as a non-invasive contraception approach in human-managed populations of deer...
Tuning oral-bait delivery strategies for red deer in Mediterranean ecosystems
J Martinez-Guijosa, L Casades-Marti… - European Journal of Wildlife …, 2020
... Potential tools for deer management include the delivery of contraceptives ... Our results show that alfalfa baits are the least palatable but the most deer-selective type of bait, whereas feed and molasses baits are highly palatable but low specific (mean bait consumption rates on the ground were 0.811, 0.949, and 0.955, respectively). The appropriate season for oral treatments using alfalfa baits both on the ground and in deer feeders is late summer (mean bait consumption rate on the ground for alfalfa-based baits was 0.939 in summer period). These results indicate that alfalfa baits are sufficiently palatable and specific in summer for them to be an efficient means to deliver treatments to red deer in Mediterranean ecosystems...
Wildlife population management: are contraceptive vaccines a feasible proposition? SK Gupta, V Minhas - Frontiers in bioscience, 2017
... Native porcine zona pellucida (PZP)-based contraceptive vaccines have shown their utility in the management of the population of both captive and free-ranging wild horses and white-tailed deer. Long-term use of the PZP-based contraceptive vaccines has also demonstrated their safety. Ideally single injection of the contraceptive vaccine should elicit long lasting immune response and desired contraceptive efficacy, which will require development of novel vaccine delivery platforms and more potent adjuvants...
EPA gives thumbs up on vaccine to manage deer populations humanely July 11, 2017 HSUS
... , the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the registration of the immunocontraceptive vaccine, Zonastat- D, for the management of deer populations. Similar to the Zonastat-H vaccine, whose use in the humane control of wild horse populations is well established and effective ... When used properly, PZP reduces fawning rates by 85 to 90 percent...
Too Many Deer? Try Birth Control (Op-Ed) June 7, 2014 Maryland, Live Science ·
... culls must occur year after year ... Each cull removes a high percentage of the population, but surviving female deer continue to reproduce, while outside deer move in to replace those culled.... after decades of research, scientists and animal advocates believe nonlethal methods to reduce the deer population are ready for widespread adoption. These include surgical sterilization and the contraceptive vaccine PZP ...
History of the Science of Wldlife Fertility Control: Reflections of a 25-Year International Conference Series [PDF] P Cohn, JF Kirkpatrick - Science and Education, 2015
... by the turn of century actual successful management of certain species was well underway... an unanticipated backlash from state and federal wildlife agencies, and some animal protection groups slowed progress, particularly in application of the science to free-ranging wildlife populations. Today the science has progressed to the point where actual management could alleviate many problems but the sociopolitical dimensions of this science have slowed progress and thrown up many non-scientific hurdles (state legislation in particular). This short history presents a classic case of a general public and political system that cannot keep pace with new scientific developments....
From the pen to the Field: Real-World Wildlife Contraception JW Turner Jr, AT Rutberg - Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 2013
...There are only two nonlethal approaches with which to manage wildlife populations: remove excess individuals or decrease reproductive rates. In the case of wild horse management, the latter has already been shown to be a more humane and less costly approach.... In this assessment, we will highlight the capability for coincident pursuit of research and management and will explore field considerations applicable to many species where fertility control has potential as a management tool.
What management methods are currently available to reduce the local deer population March 2015 Virginia, Fairfax County Government
... The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF)... is the agency responsible for the regulation and enforcement of wildlife-related laws and restrictions on wildlife management or research in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is at the discretion of this agency to grant permission and a special permit to conduct scientific research on these experimental techniques... The City of Fairfax is conducting an experimental research study to sterilize deer within the city limits, which began in 2014. This research study will last five years and should provide guidance to VDGIF and regional land managers as to the effectiveness and cost of sterilization for free-ranging deer in a suburban/urban environment...
Two drugs currently exist as a form of birth control to suppress fertility in adult, female white-tailed deer: porcine zona pellucida (PZP) vaccine and GonaCon. PZP was first developed in 1972. PZP has not gained FDA or EPA approval for commercial use on deer. In 2012, EPA formally registered the PZP vaccine for use as a contraceptive in wild horses and burros but this registration has not yet been expanded to white-tailed deer and other wildlife.
GonaCon is the newest immunocontraceptive drug and was developed in 1998. GonaCon was registered with the EPA in September 2009 as a restricted use product for contraception of adult, female white-tailed deer via hand injection. These methods have proven to be generally successful with captive deer, but present complications when dealing with deer that are free-ranging. Immunocontraceptives, like PZP and GonaCon, have not been approved for general use in Virginia. As research advances, fertility control methods may hold promise for future use as an effective non-lethal deer management tool.
Tissue Residue Levels of Butorphanol, Azaperone, Medetomidine, Atipamezole, and Naltrexone in White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginanus) at 11 and 21 Days Post Intramuscular Injection, W Cook, D Cain, T Hensley, W Bluntzer, W Lance - Poult Fish Wildl Sci, 2016
Tissue residues were determined after intramuscular injection of butorphanol, azaperone, medetomidine, atipamezole, and naltrexone in 33 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). At day 11 post injection (PI), and day 21 PI, none of anesthetics or reversal drugs were detected ≥0.01 ppm in any of the liver and muscle samples tested.
State-Level Approaches to Managing the Use of Contraceptives in Wildlife in the United States JD Eisemann, JR O'Hare, KA Fagerstone - Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 2013
...The registration of GonaCon™ Immunocontraceptive Vaccine for use in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and OvoControl for use in Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and pigeons (Columba livia) has caused state wildlife and land management agencies to review their regulatory authority over the use of contraceptives in wildlife. As a result, many states are taking steps to ensure legislation or policies are current with emerging technologies. This article examines the various approaches states are taking to regulate the use of contraceptives...
Maryland can now use birth control to curb deer population May 13, 2011 Maryland Management Cumberland Times-News
Maryland has become the first state to approve the use of Gonacon, a deer birth control product, but the state's director of wildlife said Friday he can't imagine it ever being used in what he termed the open landscape. ...“This is the only immuno-contraceptive for deer that has federal approval,” said Paul Peditto, director of the Wildlife and Heritage Service. ... “It will cost up to $1,000 to apply it to a deer,” Peditto said. The deer must first be shot via dart gun to tranquilize it before Gonacon can be injected. EPA requires that the deer be tagged so that it can be identified as having been treated.
Managing Wildlife with Contraception: Why Is It Taking So Long? AT Rutberg - Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 2013
Biologists have been testing wildlife contraceptives in the field for nearly a half century. Although effective new contraceptive agents have been identified, new delivery technologies developed, and some success with population management demonstrated, progress in this area should be further along. Why is it taking so long? First, the task is complex. Most drugs and vaccines fail in development... But there has also been focused resistance to the implementation of wildlife contraceptive studies and to the dissemination of results such studies have produced... As the institutional affiliations of participants of the 7th International Conference on Fertility Control for Wildlife confirmed, wildlife contraception has its ethical roots in the animal welfare and integrated pest-management communities. Absent from the discussion are the conservation community and the values they represent...
Ovarian dysfunction associated with zona pellucida-based immunocontraceptive vaccines
CJ Joonè, ML Schulman, HJ Bertschinger - Theriogenology, 2016
... Despite more than forty years of research into zona pellucida (ZP)-based vaccines, relatively little is known about their mechanism of action ... Further investigation of ovarian function in species believed to be resistant to the ovarian effects of anti-ZP vaccines is warranted. To this end, anti-Müllerian hormone may provide a novel tool for the assessment of ovarian function during ZP-based immunocontraception, particularly in wildlife species not amenable to frequent clinical examination...
Welsh deer 'could be given the pill' February 27, 2011 Wales WalesOnline by Claire Miller, Wales On Sunday WALES' wild deer could be given the pill to keep numbers under control, amid fears the animals pose a serious road accident threat. The nation's booming wild deer population could top 55000 by 2015, from a population of around 16,000 in 2008. While there is currently no immuno-contraception method available for deer, Defra research into oral contraceptives is ongoing, with work on wild boar and urban badgers due to report this year, with a view to beginning testing on deer.
Modeling deer herd management: sterilization is a viable option . Available online 30 June 2003. James L. Boone Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA, Richard G. Wiegert Department of Zoology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
... The number of annual sterilizations must be calculated based on the number of fertile females remaining in the herd, not on total herd size, and the number of annual sterilizations must be greatly reduced before total herd size decreases significantly. For Cumberland Island National Seashore, GA, the model predicts that the herd of 1500 deer can be controlled at 750. Over 3 years, an initial rate of 200 sterilizations per year is reduced to a constant rate of 42 per year. If the current levels of hunting and predation continue, the initial number of sterilizations is reduced from 200 to 81, but the constant annual rate increases to 58.
GnRH Single-Injection Immunocontraception of Black-Tailed Deer 2006,
Kelly R. Perry, Wendy M. Arjo, Kimberly S. Bynum, Lowell A. Miller USDA
... This study assessed the efficacy of two different GnRH-KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin) vaccine designs in a single-injection study, to determine if Mycobacterium avium bacterium in the adjuvant is necessary for the success of a single-injection contraceptive vaccine. Forty-two captive female black-tailed deer were divided into 3 groups.... Significant difference was found between GonaCon™ and GnRH-DD (P = 0.055). Results suggest that M. avium in the AdjuVac™ adjuvant is essential for the success of the single-injection GnRH vaccine GonaCon™. The development of a single-injection vaccine will increase the practicality and lower the cost of using immunocontraception as a tool to control deer populations...
Horse overpopulation addressed by locally produced wildlife contraceptive vaccine February 16, 2012 Montana, KTVQ Billings News
The vaccine has been used on wild horses and other species including urban deer for more than 20 years under FDA experimental use. "We didn't solve the cat and dog problem by creating more kill shelters. We did it with spay and neuter programs...A recent United States Geological Survey economics study indicates the vaccine could save almost $8-million dollars annually in the management of western wild horses.
