Deer Vaccinated Against Pregnancy

C A Y U G A   H E I G H T S, N. Y., July 31, 2000 -- A variety of contraceptive planscould help curb an exploding deer population in areas of upstateNew York, researchers say.

A $500,000 research study in Cayuga Heights, which bordersCornell University’s campus, shows birth control for deer ispossible, although still not a cheap or immediate solution tooverpopulation.

A four-year study at the former Seneca Army Depot on a captiveherd showed about an 85 percent decrease in fawns, said PaulCurtis, a wildlife biologist at Cornell University.

In another study, deer contraceptives were successfullydelivered by dart guns in suburban Rochester. A three-year trialshowed scientists could vaccinate if deer were relatively tame andbiologists had access to flat, open land where darting didn’tthreaten people or animals.

Birth Control in Tomatoes?

An estimated 1 million white-tailed deer now roam around thestate, biologists believe. At the same time, the number of huntersis on the decline.

Problems with burgeoning population include increased car-deercollisions and deer foraging in suburban yards, gardens andnurseries, creating a nuisance and eating some cash crops.

There were 493,000 hunting licenses issued in 1998, down from ahigh of 700,000 in 1981.

To help stem the population, scientists also are researching thepossibility of putting contraceptives into food, a concept beingtested at the National Wildlife Research Center in Colorado and inIthaca, N.Y. One scientist has genetically altered tomatoes to include acontraceptive and that science could be used in the field toeventually control populations of animals, including Canadian geese,prairie dogs and coyotes.

Any vaccine would work by preventing egg fertilization and wouldrequire boosters every year or two.

First, Catch Them

The expensive part is catching deer to inject the vaccine ordarting them. The Seneca Army Depot study was based on confineddeer, and experts say it will be much more expensive in the wild.

But Curtis found in a study this year that the home range forfemale deer in Cayuga Heights is 80 to 150 acres, so birth controlcould have an impact even where deer aren’t fenced. He figures themaximum range would be a couple of square miles. Cayuga Heights, at1.8 square miles, is small and densely populated with about 70 deerper square mile, 30 percent more than New York’s average.

Because it might be cheaper, scientists also are discussingsurgically sterilizing does using donated time from the collegeveterinary staff. The cost is about $200 per deer for the10-minute, one-time procedure compared with about $250 per deer foreach vaccination.