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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGnRH contraceptive for deer - Star Ledger, Newark, NJ.PDFFwcl: GnRH contraceptive for deer--Star Ledger, Newark, NJ Page L of 4 Norma Manning From: Walter R. Lynn [wd1@cornell.edu] Sernt: Friday, July 15, 200b 2:01 pM To: Norma Manning Subject: Fwd: GnRH contraceptive for deer-Star Ledger, Newark, NJ --- begin forwarded text X- S rlnder: pdc 1 @postoffi ce6.mai1. comell. edu (Unverifi ed) Dater: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 14:03:11-0400 T o : t: o gl @cornell. edu, mlal 4 @comell. edu Fronr: Paul Curtis <pdcl @cornell.edu> Subject: GnRH contraceptive for deer--Star Ledger, Newark, NJ Cc : fc g2@cornell. edu, wrl 1 @cornell. edu Rob and Mike- This is Lowell Miller's new GnRH one-shot, IC vaccine for deer. from. Lowell for use in cH given our poor success with Spayvac We need a commitment from the donor or the community to do anything more with deer in the village.Our fawn counts will be completed soon. -pDC Study examines new contraceptive for deer Sunday, July 10,2005 BY LAWRENCE RAGONESE Star-Ledger Staff A deer herd on the Giralda Farms business campus in Morris County is going to be the target of a contraception study aimed at a new one-shot, longer-lasting method of deer birth control, a potential aid to controlling deer overpopulation in towns and neighborhoods where hunting is not an option. The research effort, approved this month by the state Fish and Game Council, will be conducted by Connecticut-based White Buffalo Inc. on the 30g-acre Madison and Chatham Township site, a suburban location about a mile from downtown Madison. It is part of a larger study being conducted by the federal National Wildlife Research Center, aimed at getting approval for use of a Gonadotropin-releasins hormone, simply known as GnRH. One shot of the drug could provide three to five years Possibly I should get some vaccine last winter?? 071t512005 Fwd: GnRH contraceptive for deer--Star Ledger, Newark, NJ Page 2 of 4 of^sterility, and possibly even a longer-lasting effect if a deer is injected a second iime. said researchers. Kathleen Fagerstone, research manager for the National Wildlife Research Center, said the experimental drug could be used to deal with the problem of deer overpopulation in suburban New Jersey neighborhoods. Buthunting also will remain a key tooi for managing herds in more wide-open areas, she said. "There is a big misconception out there about this project," she said. "This will not replace hunting, which is a very good deer management techniqie." Th..""y drug caught the attention of Morris County Freeholder Director Jack Schrier, a former member of the Fish and Game Council, who said it might have benefits for his county's 39 towns, many of-which are seeking to control growing whitetaii herds. Schrier scheduled a July 27 briefingfor his board by Fagerstone and White Buffalo president Anthony DeNicola. In cooperation with the county park Commission, he also set up a seminar later that day at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morris Township for municipal officials and other interested persons. "This is an issue that affects people throughout Morris County profoundly and will continue to do so unless we find an altemative to hunting," said Schrier, who admittedly dislikes deer hunting to cull herds, though concedes it has a place in the overall solution. Schrier wants his board to take the lead in the state in urging federal officials to set aside at least $5 million annually for intensive research and swift development of a practical, safe, long-lasting deer contraception formula and one-shot method to deliver it. Such a discovery could especially benefit more densely populated towns, such as Mendham Borough and IJanover, that arc oveffun with deer but cannot easily or safely permit hunting in residential areas, he said. A resolution proposed by Schrier states: ,,High densities of deer have created near-emergency situations, causing deer-vehicle collisions resultins in death and injuries, ecological damage to native species of woodiand flora, gardens and agricultural 0t /15t2005 Fwrl: GnRH contraceptive for deer__Star Ledger, Newark, NJ Page 3 of 4 crops, as well as elevated risk of Lyme disease, all of which costs our citizens and farmers more than $50 ry1tti9n annually and places their health and safety atrisk." The National wildlife Research center has studied deer conlraception since the early 1990s. It developed G'RH and hopes to get a patent on it, said Fagerstone. Be_fore it can get approval from the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration, however, it has to complete two separate research studies. One is now under way by the -agelcy in Maryland and a second independent study will be done at Giralda Farms. The studies will take at least two years and the approval process will continue for an unknown period after that, she said. Fagerstone, in a written report, explained GnRH is part of apathway that signals the 6ody to produce sex hormones. It is produced by the hypoihalahus, a major organ in the brain. Without GnRH, verv little estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone are produced. The aim of a GnRH vaccine is to bind to oi "tie up" the GnRH produced within an animal's body so that it does not trigger reproduction, she wrote. The potential has piqued the interest of state wildlife experts. "This could be a useful tool, especially for confined areas," said Len Wolgast, a member of the Fish and Game council and a former Rutgers university wildlife professor- "The big problem witri immuno-contraception is the delivery system. "You've got to be able to get the right dose to the right number of deer at the right agi and right time of year." White Buffalo will have a controlled settine on the grounds of Giralda Farms -- which is surroinded bv eight-foot fences -- to try and answer those questiois and study the effectiveness of the drug. Lawrence Ragonese may be reached at lragonese@starledger.com or (973) 539,7g10. 07/ts/2005 Fwd: GnRH contraceptive for deer__Star Ledger, Newark, NJ page 4 of 4 --- end forwarded text 0711st200s