WILDLIFE FERTILITY CONTROL IN THE NEWS

PROTECTING THEIR FREEDOM: ‘THE MUSTANGS: AMERICA’S WILD HORSES’ TO PREMIERE AT SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Santa Barbara News-Press reports on the documentary “The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses,” produced by Mr. Steven Latham. In his film Latham covers the use of fertility control to manage the free roaming horse and burro populations.

PLANS TO PUT GREY SQUIRRELS ON THE PILL TO STOP THEM DAMAGING BRISTOL’S TREES
The Bristol Post reports that experts in the UK are considering putting grey squirrels on contraceptive pills as part of a bid to reduce their numbers and protect the country’s trees.

TAMING AN AMERICAN ICON: A PLAN TO CURB WILD HORSES, AND SAVE THE WEST
In this article The Christian Science Monitor explores the different viewpoints of The Path Forward plan that attempts to protect the ecosystem and the wild horses in the American West by using a combination of round-ups and fertility control.

FLORIDA WILDLIFE OFFICIALS LOOK TO ADDRESS BEAR POPULATION WITHOUT HUNTING
News4JAX in Florida reported on a proposed black bear population management plan in Jacksonville that includes fertility control.

CONTROVERSIAL PLAN TO FIX WILD-HORSE PROBLEM HAS D.C. BACKING
The Las Vegas Sun reports that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an additional $35 million toward a large-scale plan to implement safe and humane tools to curb wild horse and burro population growth. Key to this program will be long-acting fertility control.

DEER DECKED OUT FOR COLOURFUL CONTRACEPTION CAMPAIGN
The Oak Bay News reports that does in Oak Bay, Victoria, British Columbia, are wearing colorful accessories as part of an immuno-contraceptive campaign.

INSTEAD OF KILLING PRAIRIE DOGS, RESEARCHERS CONSIDER BIRTH CONTROL
KUNC, Community Radio of Northern Colorado, reports that researchers are looking into treating prairie dogs with birth control. The article features Botstiber Institute grantee, Dan Salkeld.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK TO RESUME BIRTH CONTROL OF WILD HORSES, HOPES TO MINIMIZE ROUNDUPS
According to INFORUM.COM Theodore Roosevelt National Park plans to resume birth control of wild horses, hoping to minimize roundups.

CITY GRAPPLES OVER GROWING DEER POPULATION
The Webster-Kirkwood Times reported that birth control has been proposed as one solution to stemming a growing deer population in Des Peres, MO.

FOR WILD HORSES ACCUSTOMED TO HUMANS, FERTILITY CONTROL CAN WORK
KUNR Public Radio reports on at project involving the administration of PZP to Nevada’s Virginia Range wild horses in effort to manage their growing population.

SENATORS URGE BLM TO ABANDON PLAN TO SPAY MUSTANG MARES
TheHORSE.com reported that a group of U.S. senators asked Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt to “actively peruse humane and scientifically supported fertility control projects such as the porcine zona pellucida (fertility) vaccine (PZP)” to control herd growth at the Warm Springs Horse Management Area (HMA) in Oregon.

DE ER DILEMMA FORUM: LETHAL VS. NON-LETHAL OPTIONS DISCUSSED
A meeting among Bergen County New Jersey officials and a top state fish and wildlife official questioned the need for collective action towards reducing the number of deer. According to Pascack Press, a major hurdle is that “half of the council opposes hunting but a hunt is the only state approved method for reducing deer population.”

OVOCONTROL P NOW AVAILABLE IN MEXICO
Pest Control Technology, pctonline.come, reports that OvoControl P, birth control for pigeons, is now available through distribution in Mexico. It is already registered in 49 US states and Canada.

FARMERS COME UP WITH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO MONKEY MENACE
The Star reports how Paul Kamuya has invented a trap to humanely capture the monkeys that have become detrimental to Kenyan Farmers and their source of income.

BIRTH CONTROL FOR KOALAS? HORMONE IMPLANT SET TO CONTROL BOOMING NUMBERS IN PARTS OF ADELAIDE
ABC News reports that a koala fertility program is being implemented in parts of South Australia in an effort to control booming numbers.

INDIA’S MONKEYS KEEP KILLING PEOPLE, SO SCIENTISTS ARE TRYING RADICAL NEW STERILISATION STRATEGIES
Because of the continued incidences of aggression between macaques and the Indian people the government is considering immunocontraception. An article in The Gizmodo explains the challenges of this approach.

S TATEN ISLAND’S DEER POPULATION DOWN 15% SINCE 2017, CITY SAYS
According to a silive.com article, three years after the start of the city’s deer impact management plan, Mayor Bill DiBlasio announced the plan is working.

PROPOSAL OFFERS BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR WILD HORSES AND BURROS
A Humane World reports The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) collaborated with animal welfare, wild horse advocacy, and conservation and rangeland management stakeholders to develop a proposal for the non-lethal and humane care of wild horses and burros.

AG DEPT. AND HORSE CAMPAIGN SIGN DEAL FOR HORSE BIRTH CONTROL
Nevada’s ABC affiliate KOLO TV8 reported that the Nevada Department of Agriculture and the American Wild Horse Campaign have signed a non-exclusive agreement to use fertility control to reduce population growth rates among the Virginia Range horses.

CONTROL ELEPHANT POPULATION: FORMER WII DEAN
The Hindu reports that A. J. T. Johnsingh, former dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, believes that contraception could be a tool for elephants.

AS HONG KONG GROWS, LOCALS CONTEND WITH A BIG FAT HAIRY WILDLIFE PROBLEM
The LA Times reports that birth control is being used to control the wild boar population in Hong Kong. Additional information can be found in the South China Morning Post.

B.C.’S SOLUTION TO TACKLING THE PIGEON PROBLEM ON SKYTRAIN? BIRTH CONTROL
According to Global News Canada TransLink and the BC SPCA have developed a pilot project to help reduce the pigeon population at Vancouver’s VCC-Clark SkyTrain Station by using birth control. Additional articles can be found in The Star Vancouver and Mass Transit Magazine.

ESQUIMALT COUNCILLOR CALLS FOR DEER BIRTH-CONTROL PROGRAM
A councillor in Esquimalt, British Colombia, believes the Oak Bay birth-control program for black-tailed deer should be expanded to other jurisdictions.

OAK BAY DEER COUNTED, SETTING STAGE FOR BIRTH CONTROL
CTV News reported that the Vancouver Island district of Oak Bay has begun a three-year program to manage their deer population with fertility control methods.

HEAD OF THE HARBOR TO TEST NEW TECH TO HELP MANAGE DEER POPULATION
Newsday reports that representatives from the Humane Society of the United States and Tufts University presented a high-tech alternative to recreational hunting of white-tailed deer in Head of the Harbor on the North Shore of Long Island.

MONKEYS TERRORISE VILLAGE, RESIDENTS MULL BIRTH CONTROL PILLS
The Star reported that Kenya Wildlife Services attempted to trap and remove the monkeys, with no success. The women plan to feed birth control pills to the monkeys as a last resort.

RESEARCHERS WORK TO REDUCE PIGEON POPULATION
Texas Tech began a project two years ago to reduce the pigeon population using OvoControl. The Daily Toreador reported there has been a 10% reduction in pigeons, but the goal is to reduce the population by 50-60%.

KARNATAKA ZOOS TO HOST PROJECT ON ANIMAL POPULATION MANAGEMENT
TheHindu.com reports the Karnataka zoos plan to host a project on animal population management of species involved in man-animal conflict in the country.

DONKEY REFUGE WHERE BURROS BECOME COYOTE-KICKING LIVESTOCK GUARDIANS
This article about a California donkey sanctuary offers a good summary of the history of burros in the U.S., their plight now, and their guarding skills.

OH DEER: HASTINGS ON HUDSON PROGRAM USES CONTRACEPTION TO REDUCE FAWN RATE
The Rockland/Westchester Journal News reports on the progress of the Hasting-on-Hudson program to reduce the white-tail deer population using fertility control.

LOOKING FOR THE MAGIC FIX TO CONTROL ELK
The Daily Astorian reports on the debate between culling and the use of contraceptives in controlling elk populations and limiting risk of human-wildlife conflicts.

NOVEL STUDY SHOWS PROMISE FOR MANAGING WILD HORSE POPULATIONS
Colorado State University researchers studied the vaccine GonaCon as a humane solution for the overpopulation of free-roaming horses.

MANAGING MONKEYS IN THAILAND
Public hearings in May of 2018 called for the sterilization of the Phuket’s monkey population in Thailand. The Thaiger reported that 216 monkeys have been captured, and 42 monkeys have been sterilized and released.

ContraPest® INTRODUCED IN THE STATE OF HAWAI’I
Markets Insider reported that a year-long trial assessing the effectiveness of ContraPest was presented at the 25th annual Hawai’i Conservation Conference.

DROUGHTS CALL FOR INTERVENTION FOR FREE-ROAMING HORSES
The Tampa Bay Times reported that while the government rounds up and adopts out free-roaming horses, critics implore the use of fertility control to manage the populations.

SOUTHERN AFRICA HAS TOO MANY ELEPHANTS AND LIONS. IS CONTRACEPTION THE ANSWER?
The Globe and Mail Inc. reports that fertility control is being considered to manage the growing populations of elephants and lions in southern countries.

BLM TO REDUCE BOOK CLIFFS HORSE HERD
According to Western Colorado’s Grand Junction Daily Sentinel the BLM plans to reduce the Little Book Cliffs wild horse population and their plan includes temporary fertility control methods.

VILLAGE SHARES DATA ON DEER CONTROL EFFORT
The Rivertowns Enterprise reported on Hastings on the Hudson’s Mayor Peter Swiderski presentation at BIWFC’s Urban Deer Fertility Control Workshop in Tarrytown, NY.