2021 article
Efficacy and Cost of GonaCon (TM) for Population Control in a Free-ranging White-tailed Deer Population
Walker, M. J., Shank, G. C., Stoskopf, M. K., Minter, L. J., & DePerno, C. S. (2021, December 30). WILDLIFE SOCIETY BULLETIN.
author keywords: GonaCon (TM); immunocontraception; North Carolina; Odocoileus virginianus; white-tailed deer
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water
(Web of Science)
15. Life on Land
(Web of Science)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: January 10, 2022
ABSTRACTAs white‐tailed deer populations increase in developed and urban areas, lethal management is necessary to control population growth. However, concerns about safety and negative attitudes towards lethal control and using firearms near houses have prompted many communities to pursue nonlethal techniques. Therefore, in 2014 we initiated a 5‐year project to attempt to stabilize the local deer population on Bald Head Island (BHI), North Carolina, using the immunocontraceptive GonaCon™. Since 2014 we captured and inoculated 77 female deer with GonaCon™. From 2017 to 2018 we evaluated the efficacy and cost of GonaCon™ at reducing pregnancy in adult female white‐tailed deer on BHI. We obtained blood samples from 49 deer that had received either 1 or 2 doses of GonaCon™, and from 19 female deer that had received no GonaCon™ for pregnancy analysis using the pregnancy specific protein B assay. All untreated deer sampled were pregnant (n = 19), whereas 67% of deer sampled that received only a single dose were pregnant (n = 27), and 14% of deer that received 2 doses (n = 22) were pregnant. Thus, 2 doses of GonaCon™ were necessary to reduce pregnancy rates below 50%. The total direct cost of the 5‐year immunocontraception project was $320,030.52 and averaged $2,078.12/capture with an overall efficacy of 33% for one dose and 86% for 2 doses of GonaCon™. Conversely, the estimated cost for the local government (i.e., Village of Bald Head Island) to cull 30 deer in 2018 was $16,163.63, or $538.79/deer. The estimated deer population was 113 in 2014 and increased to 198 individuals by 2018. Further population projections suggested the white‐tailed deer population is projected to reach 342 individuals by 2022. Although 2 doses of GonaCon™ were effective at reducing pregnancy, administration across the BHI deer population was not successful in reducing the deer population, and culling will likely be necessary to reduce the population. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.