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Table of Contents:
MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS
THE RESEARCH TEAM
THE WEST END
MONITORS
MONITORS GIVE VALUABLE INFORMATION TO WILDLIFE PATHOLOGIST
DEAD DEER
DISPOSAL
MORIBUND DEER
NORTH HAVEN'S DEER WOES
SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR IMMUNOCONTRACEPTION
BAITING STATIONS
THE LIFESPAN OF OUR DEER
THE PROJECT IN THE PINES AND CHERRY GROVE
THE PROJECT IN THE MID-ISLAND COMMUNITIES
NEED FOR
MARKER DART IN OTHER AREAS OF FIRE ISLAND
FINS' ROLE IN DEER MANAGEMENT
PROJECT FUNDING
COST OF FIRE ISLAND PROJECT RELATIVELY LOW
OTHER IMMUNOCONTRACEPTION STUDY SITES
THE POSITION OF THE NYSDEC
DEER
IDENTIFICATION
OTHER POSSIBLE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
THE HSUS
STONE-AGE
TECHNOLOGY
ADVANTAGES OF PZP VACCINE
CONTRACEPTION OF OTHER SPECIES
BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS
STRUCTURE IN PLACE FOR RELATED STUDIES
IN CONCLUSION
This is the fifth year of the Fire Island deer immunocontraception
project. While a research paper will be presented by Drs. Kirkpartnck,
Turner and Liu, I respectfully submit this background report in the
interim, in the hope that it will help with post-project decisions.
MAIN
ACHIEVEMENTS
In an important way the project has gone beyond its primary objective.
This objective was to test the feasibility of remotely delivering the PZP
(Porcine Zona Pellucida) vaccine to a small group of free-roaming deer.
The success achieved during the first two years made possible the much
larger goal of actually demonstrating a population effect. The duration of
the study was extended from 2 years to 5 years. The aim to treat only
30-50 does at each of two locations has increased to nearly 300 does which
have been treated throughout the island.
The area from the lighthouse to Dunewood has become the primary study site
because virtually every one of the 90 does living here has been identified
and inoculated. The fawning rate has been reduced by approximately 90%.
This means that instead of having 120 newborn fawns this year, we will
have fewer than 10. Two types of data sheets are kept on each doe. The one
kept by the monitors is based on observations made at the baiting stations
and tells the life history of each deer. The actual inoculation data is
also kept by the researchers.
Surprisingly, there have been very few emigrant does entering the primary
study area. In the winter months when deer are looking for browse,
however, we have consistently seen the same group of does coming from west
of the lighthouse. Last February Rick Naugle, The Humane Society of the
United States (HSUS) research assistant, returned to Fire Island to
inoculate these 15 does with a single dose of vaccine, thus initiating the
immunization process.
THE RESEARCH
TEAM
The research team consists of Dr. Jay F. Kirkpatrick, science director
of ZooMontana and research associate of The HSUS, Dr. John Turner,
professor of physiology at the Medical College of Ohio, and Dr. Irwin K.
M. Liu, professor of immunology at the University of
California at Davis. It was they who selected Fire Island as a test site
in 1992. It is Rick Naugle, however, who has been single-handedly
vaccinating the Fire Island deer for the last two years. He learned his
craft on Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, where the
researchers have been contracepting feral horses. These wonderful little
horses are thought to have swum ashore from a colonial shipwreck in the
17th century and were overpopulating that barrier island.
Immunocontraception has successfully halted the population growth of the
herd.
THE WEST
END MONITORS
The volunteers in the western communities include Loretta Li of Fair
Harbor. She realized even during the days of the 1988/89 Fire Island deer
hunt, that management other than killing tame deer with arrows, was
possible. When the opportunity arose to bring the well- known team of
contraception scientists to Fire island, she helped set up the groundwork
for the proposed study, including the deer monitoring system. Through her
involvement, Fair
Harbor has been a strong supporter of the project from its early days. The
other volunteers in Fair Harbor include Elly Maggiora and Hugh and Emily
Salzberg. In Dunewood, there is the intrepid Zelda Levine. In Saltaire
there are Tamara and Frank Markus and in Kismet, there are a host of
dedicated supporters: Al Mangels, Don Decker, Helen Quenzer, Bradlee
White, Ann Regan, Shirley Patterson, Ann and Alice Nyburg, Karen Kelley,
Carole Thomas and the singular Carl Dahl.
Carl helps in several important ways. He holds an annual raffle with the
profits going to the project. His experience as a hunter and a Maine State
game warden qualify him to skillfully collect tissue samples and organs
from project does that have died. He is also instrumental in delivering
deer that are suspected of having been poisoned to the Ranger checkpoint.
From there the carcasses are taken to Mr. Ward B. Stone, Wildlife
Pathologist, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)
at Delmar.
MONITORS GIVE VALUABLE
INFORMATION TO WILDLIFE PATHOLOGIST
Dr. Stone is doing research on the effect of poisons on non-target
wildlife. For many years Fire Islanders have reported suspicious deaths of
pets and wildlife to the Fire Island National Seashore (FINS). When the
project monitors became alarmed at the large number of deer dying in
distress, we got the attention of the NYSDEC. Dr. Stone's pathologies
confirmed that deer are indeed dying of rodenticide poisoning. He has made
a recommendation that "the data on some anticoagulant rodenticides be
evaluated with an eye toward increased restrictions.. .in order to protect
non-target wildlife". His compelling findings may result in national
attention to the danger inherent in over-the-counter poisons.
Perhaps the single most dramatic indication of the amount of poison in our
environment is the five dead deer found under one house in the Pines.
Three were delivered to Dr. Stone and were found to have died of
anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning. Two red foxes and a raccoon found
nearby had the same anticoagulant in their body tissue and Dr. Stone
suspected that they had succumbed to secondary poisoning, having scavenged
the deer carcasses.
The NYSDEC has been involved on an enforcement level, as well as with
pathologies. Vincent Palmer, Case Review Officer and Pesticide Control
Specialist II, is conducting an on-going investigation on Fire Island.
Detective Richard Zadrozny, of the Suffolk County S.P.C.A. Law Enforcement
Division, has also expressed concern and has made posters available to the
communities.
DEAD DEER
DISPOSAL
Dead deer present an unexpected environmental and
logistical problem. Two hundred pound deer do not die inconspicuously,
like bunnyrabbits in the tall grasses. Incidentally, for many years there
were an inordinate number of rabbits in the western communities. In the
morning mist, dozens could be seen sitting motionlessly on the boardwalks,
little fluffy mounds. One year they mysteriously disappeared. All of them.
Occasionally, someone will still ask at a cocktail party: "Whatever
happened to all the rabbits?". Whatever happened, happened out of sight.
More recently, the Fowler toads, which once congregated under the street
lights at dusk also disappeared. Their decline may be more worrisome
because an amphibian's porous skin makes the animal a sensitive barometer
for measuring environmental changes.
While small creatures die unnoticed, an animal the size of a deer must
be disposed of promptly. In most communities the cost of removal to the
homeowner is $100. In Saltaire the carcasses had been removed and
incinerated or buried on Village land by the maintenance crew. Since the
inception of the project, Carr, with the cooperation of Saltaire
Administrator Mario Posillico, is resolving this messy problem at no cost.
Carl does, however, obtain without fail from every inflicted homeowner, a
half gallon of vodka to be used at project affairs.
MORIBUND DEER
Even more disturbing than finding dead deer is finding dying deer. In
the absence of an official protocol to follow, project monitors call Dr.
Stone or Dr. Douglas Tack to give us direction. Dr. Tack of the Sunrise
Veterinary Group in West Islip has made himself available as project
veterinarian for the western communities, and both he and Dr. Stone have
been of immense help in advising about animals thrashing in pain. Poisoned
deer can die a slow agonizing death. Recently, FINS West District Ranger
Jay Uppert has been helpful in shooting deer when the suffering is
prolonged. The HSUS has offered to help put a protocol in place that will
allow humane euthanasia.
NORTH
HAVEN'S DEER WOES
Other municipalities are also facing the dead deer predicament. In
North Haven, Long Island it has become a grisly saga. When the Southampton
refuse station stopped accepting its dead deer, North Haven made
arrangements with a crematorium for weekly disposal of the carcasses. They
were stored in a freezer placed at the Old Schoolhouse on Route 114. It
seems that the contractor hired to bring the dead deer to the freezer,
failed to bag them and the carcasses froze together. The crematorium
workers then would not transport them in a timely manner. The carcasses
were reportedly blow-torched apart, the search for a different crematorium
ensued, but was unsuccessful, and the latest suggestion is to bury them on
Village land where the "water table is far enough below the surface to
allow burial".
Deer are killed annually in North Haven through the issuance of NYSDEC
nuisance deer permits. This year over 200 deer have been killed, and
predictably the number of deer increases every year. Killing as population
control works only if the herd is decimated. If, for instance, there are
100 deer and 90 of them are killed, that would be effective, because it
would take the remaining 10 deer some time to regenerate. But, if 30 deer
or even 40 deer are killed, the remaining deer will respond by reproducing
dramatically. This phenomenon is known as 'compensatory rebound,' and may
help to explain why sport hunting as a management tool has resulted in an
ever-increasing number of deer in this country.
SEIZING
THE OPPORTUNITY FOR IMMUNOCONTRACEPTION
The diligent efforts of Dore Broderick, Kim Cannon and their colleagues
resulted in an opportunity for North Haven to also work with Dr.
Kirkpatrick's research team. It was clear, however, from the CBS 60
Minutes" program, with resident Steve Kroft reporting, that North Haven's
officials did not take advantage of this opportunity
Fortunately, our public officials did not hesitate. Understanding that
neither the Park Service nor the NYSDEC has an effective deer solution to
offer at this time, Saltaire Mayor Joel
Carr encouraged us throughout the months of hard work and the avoidance of
bureaucratic and political pitfalls. His successor, Mayor Martin Berger
made a major leap forward in community involvement. He is the first
official of any municipality in this country to have the quality of mind
to resolutely support public baiting stations where deer can be monitored
and vaccinated.
When Drs. Kirkpatrick and Tumer came to Fire Island to evaluate it as a
test site, they emphasized that the primary requirement for being chosen
was the identification and naming of a number of deer. We hoped that this
might be accomplished with the cooperation of neighbors who were feeding
deer, thereby allowing us to observe them on a regular basis. Thus, people
like Florence Gibson with a single-minded and uncompromising love for
animals were the genesis of the Fire Island project.
BAITING STATIONS
All the baiting stations were initially at volunteers' homes. Some were
less than ideal locations, near public tennis courts, in low areas
resulting in muddy deer trails before the spring green-up. Mayor Berger
relocated Saltaire's baiting stations to minimize the effect on the
community. It is important to realize that baiting stations are temporary
and that the need for them will diminish as the deer population
diminishes. This summer, anticipating few births and confident of our data
we find it unnecessary to bait the deer in Saltaire. We are hoping to
generate fawning data by spot checking the few does that appear to be
heavy and possibly pregnant.
THE
LIFESPAN OF OUR DEER
How long will our deer live? No one knows. But, Dr. Stone is finding
out by the microscopic examination of their teeth, a technique that he
developed. He has already concluded that one doe, Bignic, was 13 when she
died. While Bignic succumbed to rodenticide poisoning, Dr. Stone reported
that she was dying in any event. She was unable to handle food because her
teeth were worn down, a process hastened by the sand that she ingested
during her lifetime. (Dr. Kirkpatrick has observed that the horses of
Assateague Island have learned to vigorously shake the sand out of a clump
of grass before ingesting it.)
Dr. Stone made a disturbing observation about Bignic: she had a two pound
mass of garbage in her stomach, consisting of nails, pennies, assorted
plastic and both narrow and wide rubber bands such as might be found
around bundles of parsley or broccoli. He was incredulous of this mass and
expressed compassion for the chronic discomfort this poor animal must have
suffered. Having monitored Bignic for several years, I knew that she had
lived most of her life down around Clam Pond Cove and on the bay in
Saltaire. She spent a lot of time near the Saltaire Market, especially
when the old pear tree was ripe with fruit. The pennies, plastic and
rubber bands were probably from the store's refuse.
Most of the deer in the primary test site are over five years old, having
been born before the project's inception. Dr. Kirkpatrick confirms that,
should the project continue, we will experience a population crash when
the majority of deer reach that certain age. Frank Markus is doing a
spread sheet demonstrating this more clearly.
THE
PROJECT IN THE PINES AND CHERRY GROVE
While the western communities remain the primary test site, an
increasing number of deer have been treated in other Fire Island
communities. In the Pines and Cherry Grove, Lee Frey estimates that
two-thirds of the deer population has been identified and treated. Lee has
been with the project almost from the beginning. Her dedication to the
welfare of animals is legendary and considering that she is not here in
the winter, she generates an impressive amount of data. Upon the
development of a reliable marker dart, Lee hopes, with the help of Marilyn
Karpoff, Maryann Bamberger, Jo Bressler, Chris and Dennis Cronin, and
Betty and Bud Verspoor to work out the logistics for vaccinating all the
does in that area. The staff veterinarians at the Bellport Animal Hospital
volunteer their services and are on call for the east end communities.
THE
PROJECT IN THE MID-ISLAND COMMUNITIES
The mid-island communities came into the project mainly because of the
perseverance of Norman Steele of the Fire Island Environmental Coalition (FIEC)
and the compelling and insistent importuning of Judy Hamberg of Corneille
Estates. Subsequently, Sallie Potterton, with the help of Betsey Peters,
John McCullom and Bruce Meyer, began identifying deer in greater numbers.
In the fall of 1996, in order to treat even the unidentified does in Ocean
Beach, we urged the use of a marker dart that is designed to leave a
blotch of color on the deer's coat at the same time that the vaccine is
delivered. This dart is still not working with complete reliability, but
Rick's skill combined with Sallie's data and her determination to give
Ocean Beach the same population relief that the western communities are
already experiencing, resulted in the treatment of the majority of does.
With the reduction in fawning this season, perhaps the flood of
controversy and acrimony over the deer in Ocean Beach will ebb.
NEED FOR
MARKER DART IN OTHER AREAS OF FIRE ISLAND
Last winter Kathy and Bill Buteau, Susan Solomita and N.D. Wruble,
M.D., Sedat Beqaj and Carl Dahl began keeping a daily deer count on the
Robert Moses Parkway. The data which they are generating will be useful
should the project expand to this area.
Although some of the does in Lonelyville, Atlantique Beach, Atlantique and
Robbins Rest have been treated, these communities are not in their
entirety part of the project. Forrest Peter Clock made a valiant attempt
on behalf of Lonelyville last fail and we managed to get at least the
first dose of vaccine into a number of deer. Unfortunately, Rick Naugle
ran into some difficulty with the marker dart that had just worked quite
well in Ocean Beach.
With Peters cooperation, this spring I was able to do some deer monitoring
near his house. It was time well spent. We confirmed Rick's suspicion that
there is a hard-core group of unidentified does that lives between
Lonelyville and Robins Rest. They were with yearlings and most of them
were pregnant. I also recognized some already contracepted Dunewood deer.
One morning, to my surprise, I saw some does which live right down the
street from my house in Saltaire and, on another occasion, a group that
lives in FINS' land between Kismet and Saltaire. Dr. Kirkpatrick has said
that the deer may know me by my scent (L'Aire ciu Temps, I like to think);
they certainly seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see them. They
were heading east, but apparently did not travel much farther because one
group was at its customary baiting station by the time I had doubled back
on my bike. I also saw some unfamiliar deer that did not appear pregnant,
coming from the east. They may have been from Judy Hamberg's contracepted
group at Corneille Estates.
This fall, with a reliable marker dart and the cooperation of Lonelyville,
the Town of slip (which owns Atlantique Beach), Atlantique and Robins Rest
we could potentially treat the approximately 20 mature does and yearlings
living in that area. Nina Austenberg, Regional Director of The HSUS and
the project liaison, has initiated communications with Jeanette Massina,
Islip Commissioner of Parks. A Park representative, Mr. Al Palmieri, has
attended the last two project meetings held in Saitaire. As of now, we
have an insignificant number of emigrant does entering the primary study
area, but this will not be the case for long if these deer are not soon
treated.
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Zunno are project volunteers in Ocean Bay Park and
hopefully, using the marker dart, more work will be done there this fall.
No volunteers have come forward and no contraceptive work has been done in
Point O'Woods.
The deed to the Sunken Forest, a wildlife sanctuary, precludes lethal deer
management, but might allow humane control. The miles of wilderness to the
east of Cherry Grove and the Pines are predominantly land administered by
FINS.
FINS' ROLE IN DEER MANAGEMENT
While the permit for the deer project was issued by the NYSDEC, FINS
Superintendent Jack Hauptman's gave his endorsement. As a representative
of the National Park Service, he "welcomed the opportunity to work with
the communities to investigate improved methods of managing the deer
populations within the Fire Island National Seashore".
During the winter of 1995/6, FINS held 18 public 'scoping sessions'.
According to Resource Manager Mike Bilecki, "the purpose of the meetings
was to discuss issues related to the deer, to come up with objectives, and
management alternatives for implementing those objectives."
Mike is working on a Deer Management Plan, but, he states that a
"management alternative has not been selected at this time". Before any
management can be implemented, a scientific study must be conducted,
demonstrating the environmental impact caused by deer. Mike feels,
however, that he may have sufficient data indicating that management would
not be justified in the wilderness area.
He thinks that FINS may focus on the communities. Mike arrived on Fire
Island after the project had been in place for several years, as he
familiarizes himself with the project and its results, he may become more
enthusiastic about using immunocontraception as a management alternative.
PROJECT FUNDING
The project is paid for almost entirely by the communities. Our annual
budget includes air fare and auto transportation for the scientists,
vaccine, adjuvants, darts, and miscellaneous equipment and drugs. Although
Drs. Kirkpatiick, Tumer, Liu Rutberg and Maria Hille graciously forego
payment, being salaried by their respective universities and affiliated
organizations, Rick Naugle's salary for his work on Fire Island is
included in the budget. Lodging for the research team has been provided by
Fire Island residents and by the Village of Saltaire. FINS provides a land
vehicle for use on the island.
Loretta Li, the budget coordinator, will give an accounting upon receiving
an updated HSUS summary of receipts and the actual 1997 budget from Rick
Naugle. We estimate that the total cost of the five year project will come
to approximately $40,000. Money was raised
with a great deal of good will through private donations, fund-raising
events, the sale of T shirts and requests for donations to the Saltaire
Citizens Advisory Association, Fire Island Association, the year-round
Residents Association and the participating communities. The apportionment
requested from each community was balanced with its fund-raising efforts,
number of deer treated, etc. Most communities have responded with
generosity. From the beginning, we agreed not to form an 'organization' to
sponsor the project, hoping at the proper time to simplify the transition
from our grass roots effort to management by the NYSDEC or FINS. Dr.
Kirkpatrick's connection with The HSUS, made it the logical conduit for
funds.
The considerable cost of baiting the deer for purposes of generating data
and vaccinating is not included in the budget and was originally paid for
entirely by the monitors. More recently, some of the communities are
helping significantly with this cost, and local organizations, such as
Pines Animal Welfare (PAW) and Kismet League for Animal Welfare (KLAW) are
contributing as well.
COST
OF FIRE ISLAND PROJECT RELATIVELY LOW
The cost of the Fire Island study is low compared to some recent
efforts made at deer management. For instance, the cost of baiting and
shooting 240 deer over a two-year period in lrondequoit, New York was
$85,000. Closer to home, the 1988/89 Fire Island Deer Hunt cost $60,000
and resulted in the death of 60 deer. That is $1000 to kill I deer.
The PZP vaccine is $20 per dose and is expected to go down to $7 per dose.
Even with the additional cost of generating data for this study, clearly
immunocontraception is cost- effective. Instead of killing deer, we will
have prevented the birth of easily 500 animals in just the primary study
area over the five year period. As existing does die a natural death, ever
fewer will need treatment and the cost will diminish concomitantly. By
perfecting the protocol for immunocontraception, Dr. Kirkpatrick and The
HSUS hope to make it so inexpensive that it will be available to all.
OTHER
IMMUNOCONTRACEPTION STUDY SITES
A number of other deer immunocontraception studies are taking place.
Fifteen deer were eartagged and treated at Sharon Woods Metro Park,
Columbus, Ohio. One hundred deer were eartagged and treated at the
National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) at Gaithersburg,
Maryland. Nineteen deer were eartagged and treated at the Smithsonian
Conservation and Research Center, Front Royal, Virginia.
The first site in New Jersey, Nina Austenberg's home state, is the
Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Moms Township, where twenty deer are to be
eartagged and treated this fall. Nina has been a great help to the project
volunteers and it is gratifying to have repaid her in some measure: after
a tour of the Saltaire baiting stations, a Princeton Township Animal
Control officer subsequently made a favorable recommendation for
initiating a project in that township.
THE
POSITION OF THE NYSDEC
State game agencies derive revenue from hunting and have traditionally
opposed other management methods. However, with the formidable increase in
deer in the suburbs where hunting is not safe, the need for humane and
effective management is critical. The
NYSDEC was among the first state agencies in the nation to allow a
fertility control study when it issued the permit for the Fire Island deer
project.
The NYSDEC is also the first agency to actually participate in a
state-funded contraception study. Beginning this year the NYSDEC in
association with Drs. Brian Underwood and William Porter, College of
Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York at
Syracuse, and Dr. Paul Curtis, New York Cooperative, Fish and Wildlife
Research Unit, Cornell University, is conducting a research program in
lrondequoit, New York to "evaluate the safety, humaneness, effectiveness
and affordability of using contraceptive drugs." With a $100,000
allocation from the New York State legislature, "up to fifty deer will be
live-trapped, tranquilized, tagged in both ears, radio-collared and given
their first dose of PZP vaccine beginning in January 199T. While most does
are already pregnant in January (fetuses are not harmed by the treatment),
a second shot given in the fall, will then potentially contracept the
does. This protocol differs from that used on Fire Island, where two shots
were given in the fall, at a three-week interval contracepting the does
immediately before the rutting season.
DEER
IDENTIFICATION
Deer must, of course, be identified in some way so that the researchers
know which animals have been treated. The deer at all the sites mentioned
have or will be captured, tranquilized, tagged, and some fitted with
radio-collars. Only Fire Island deer have been individually identified and
have not been handled other than being remotely inoculated.
Of course, the intensive labor involved in identifying and monitoring a
population of deer, while required for the study, would be impractical for
management purposes. A method of marking the deer with a dart that leaves
a bright spot of color on the coat of the animal while simultaneously
delivering the vaccine has been under development for some time.
This seemingly simple device has been a cause of much frustration. Without
it, deer in Fire Island communities with no working monitoring system,
and, indeed, free-roaming deer everywhere cannot be treated with the
vaccine. Two enthusiastic young biologists working on Fire Island with Dr.
Underwood on a deer survey, expressed interest in researching a reliable
dye for the two-chamber dart (Pneu-Dart Mark-A-Dart) that has been used
with some success by Rick Naugle. We encouraged Frank Verret and Jamie
Fischer to submit a proposal, which was subsequently approved by The HSUS,
but to our disappointment it was evidently withdrawn. None of the various
dyes that Rick Naugle has diligently tested over the years has remained
visible for the required length of time. Rick was on Fire Island again
this summer testing a new dye being used in the cattle industry. Monitors
are observing the 13 test animals.
OTHER POSSIBLE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
Besides a marker dart, a number of other technological advances would
make immunocontraception a more practical management tool. Primary among
them is the one- shot vaccine. While the two-shot protocol is being used
successfully on Fire Island, it is limited in usefulness. The researchers
had originally intended to test a one-shot version based on a
time-releasing micro-encapsulation process on Fire Island. They are also
exploring the possibility of achieving contraception in a more gradual
way. By administering the first shot in the winter, as is being done in
lrondequoit, pregnant does will give birth in the spring, but, a second
shot given in the fall will hopefully contracept them. Another
approach that is being tried at NIST is the treatment of fawns, which are
easy to capture and eartag, with the first shot in a two-shot protocol.
Research is also being done on Fire Island and elsewhere to evaluate the
effectiveness of adjuvants other than Freund's which is not highly
regarded by the FDA. The function of the adjuvant is to enhance the deer's
immune response.
While the PZP vaccine is highly effective, it is being still further
refined in the laboratory. Deer respond to the vaccine by raising
antibodies. It is thought that these antibodies attach to the sperm
receptors on deer ova, thereby preventing sperm attachment and conception.
With ovarian tissue obtained from slaughterhouses, the vaccine is prepared
from the protein membrane or 'zona pellucida' of pig ova. Were the vaccine
derived, however, from monoclonal tissue cultures, only the particular
protein involved in the contraceptive process would be produced, resulting
in a more specific and a less costly product.
THE HSUS
By supporting the work of Dr. Kirkpatrick and his colleagues, The HSUS
has taken a leadership role in the development of immunocontraception. The
FDA has given The HSUS approval for use of the vaccine in wildlife studies
and it is comforting that a prestigious animal welfare organization will
be overseeing these studies. At a meeting held in Saltaire last fall, some
citizens concerned with the compelling need for humane deer management,
formed an ad hoc committee. Its purpose is to urge The HSUS to expedite
the development of the technology necessary to make immunocontraception a
practical tool. Members of the group include Norman Steele (FIEC), Loretta
Li and Sedat Beqaj of Fire Island, Dore Broderick of Amagansett, New York,
The Hon. Philip Boyle, New York State Assembly, Karen Imparato Cotton of
Princeton, New Jersey and Pamela Weindling of Fox Point, Wisconsin.
STONE-AGE
TECHNOLOGY
When Drs. Kirkpatrick and Turner first arrived on Fire Island, we were
excited at the prospect of these eminent biologists on the cutting edge of
wildlife science, addressing our deer predicament.
Surprisingly, Dr. Kirkpatrick referred to the present technology as being
in the 'stone-age'. He alluded to the multi-million dollar effort
supported by the Australian government to splice the gene for the
contraceptive antigen to a non-pathogenic virus that could rapidly spread
through an animal population, harmless except for its contraceptive
effect. He shuddered at the moral and ethical ramifications of developing
a technology that has the potential to wipe out entire populations.
ADVANTAGES OF PZP VACCINE
Thankfully, the PZP vaccine is thought to be reversible to a point. It
has other advantages over the hormone-based drugs that are also being
explored for use in wildlife fertility control. Some of these advantages
are:
· The protein nature of the PZP vaccine does not allow for contamination
of the food chain.
· If the animal is already pregnant when vaccinated, that pregnancy is not
affected.
· It does not significantly alter the social behavior of the animal;
animals mate but do not get pregnant.
· It can be remotely delivered causing minimal stress to the animal.
· Its reversibility safeguards the gene pool.
CONTRACEPTION OF OTHER SPECIES
Best known for their work with feral horses, Drs. Kirkpatrick and
Turner have successfully treated a number of mammal species. Some of their
contraceptive work has been done in zoos and may help to alleviate the
horrendous fate of surplus animals resulting from successful breeding in
captivity. Exotic and rare species are euthanized, sold to suffer a
lifetime of inhumane treatment, and are even sold to be 'hunted' in
private preserves.
By contracepting elephants in South Africa's Kruger National Park, Drs.
Kirkpatrick and Turner may allay a tragic irony: elephants are an
endangered species and yet hundreds are shot from helicopters to prevent
overpopulation in protected areas. These highly intelligent and social
animals are so bewildered by the killings within their midst that the
tumultuous clamor of the annual culling is a shattering experience for the
most seasoned wildlife biologist.
BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS
Although the white-tailed deer may seem ordinary compared with the
mighty elephant, deer were also endangered, having been over-hunted at the
turn of the century. And they are also social and intelligent animals:
while the monitors struggle to identify them, they easily know us,
apparently being able to distinguish between some individual humans.
The west end deer population has been closely monitored for almost six
years. This presents a unique opportunity to the scientific community to
learn about deer behavior. The monitors observe fascinating behavior that
has not been previously described. Young bucks, for instance, leave their
matrilineal groups during the rut, but a significant number return in the
spring, year after year, to home ground and family groups.
Antler enhancement is thought to be uncommon in white-tails, yet we
observe it frequently. And this enhancement is not exclusively vegetative.
We think that bucks will sometimes deliberately entangle rope and netting
in their antlers to give themselves a more dominant appearance during the
rut. Sadly, the permanent nature of some of the trash in our environment
can get the deer into serious trouble. We have numerous photographs of
bucks with everything from fishing filament to entire tarps entangled in
their racks. Dr. Stone has expressed interested in doing an exhibit using
these photographs.
We recently made a comforting observation. Having been convinced that the
older does who are still wearing the pathetic shaggy remnants of their
winter coats well into the hot summer months, were just plain shutting
down and going to die, we were relieved each summer when they eventually
lost all that mealy fur. It finally occurred to us that the arthritic old
girls take the shortest route from here to there, while the younger does
and especially the bucks cavort in the thickets, efficiently brushing out
their winter fur on the brambles and the branches, until they are soon
sleek in their red summer coats.
STRUCTURE IN PLACE FOR
RELATED STUDIES
Above all, Fire Island would be an extraordinary laboratory for a
behavioral study on contracepted deer. Dr. Kirkpatrick had initially
proposed that such a study be done ancillary to the project.
One of the fears is that the bucks will "breed themselves to death" trying
to impregnate the does. We are relieved to report that no Fire Island
bucks appear to have died in this way. While does are polyestrus breeders,
that is, they recycle if the are not impregnated, the mating activity that
we observe in late winter is sporadic. And as Dr. Kirkpatrick has already
observed elsewhere, it generally takes place between does and younger
bucks that have not had an earlier opportunity to mate, being unable to
compete with the mature bucks.
Another concern is that immunocontraception may result in delayed
pregnancies and births, with young fawns unable to survive the winter.
While we have had some late births, mostly we have no births. And besides,
we had late births on Fire Island before the inception of the project.
Very young fawns usually survive if an Indian summer tempers the season.
Apart from behavioral studies, Fire Island offers an opportunity to
investigate the physiology of immunocontraception. As the deer population
dies, the carcasses, that we find with regularity, have a wealth of
information to offer someone such as Dr. Stone. Histological studies of
ovaries to examine the effect of the antibody response, for instance,
could furnish evidence about the safety of immunocontraception.
We also have an ideal laboratory for other deer related research, such as
exploring the use of systemic pesticides to reduce the tick population on
the deer, or the use of the external pesticide applicators such as the one
developed by Florida researchers.
IN CONCLUSION
As wildlife habitat continues to diminish and animals adapt to living
near us, we have a practical and perhaps a moral obligation to find new
management solutions. On behalf of the Fire Island deer project
volunteers, I thank Mayor Cam Mayor Berger and Trustees of the Village of
Saltaire for having the boldness and vision to pursue an uncharted course.
Should Saltaire continue along that course, it may take us to unexpected
ports of call. I submit this report to that end.
APPENDIX
1. RESEARCH PROPOSAL APPLICATION FOR NYSDEC PERMIT
2. SAMPLE DEER DATA SHEETS
3. NYSDEC WILDLIFE PATHOLOGY UNIT, ANNUAL REPORT, FISCAL YEAR 1995/1996
4. MAP OF FIRE ISLAND WITH IMMUNOCONTRACEPTION SITES
5. PROJECTED AND ACTUAL BUDGETS 1993-1996, PROJECTED BUDGET 1997
6. RESEARCH PROPOSAL, INVESTIGATION OF DYES USED FOR TEMPORARILY MARKING
WHITE-TAILED DEER BY REMOTE DELIVERY
7. PROJECT INTERIM REPORT, FINAL REPORT 1993/94 PROJECT INTERIM REPORT,
FINAL REPORT 1994/95 PROJECT INTERIM REPORT, FINAL REPORT 1995/96
1998
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