Contraceptifs pour les bernaches du Canada....

[Animal 0]

Pour nos prochaines nouvelles...
------------------------------------


Geese Contraceptives
June 24, 2005

(AP)

Bait laced with a contraceptive shows promise in combatting burgeoning
populations of Canada geese, sharply reducing the fertility of eggs, said a
study by the U.S. National Wildlife Research Center.

The research was conducted at 10 sites around Oregon from February
through May in 2004, officials said. One-half of the test sites were
supplied with treated bait while the other half received a placebo.

“We achieved a 51-percent reduction in hatchability of eggs in treated
sites versus control sites,” said Kimberly Bynum of the Gainesville,
Fla.-based National Wildlife Research Center.

“It was definitely a success.”

Protected by the U.S. government, Canada geese have multiplied
dramatically.

There are now an estimated 2.6 million resident Canada geese in the
United States who don’t migrate; they prefer wide-open, mowed grass to
natural terrain, so their prolific droppings often litter parks and golf
courses.

Communities seeking to oust the geese have tried noise-makers,
scarecrows, fake coyotes, and alligators—often with little lasting effect.

The goose contraceptive used in Oregon is manufactured by
California-based Innolytics LLC under the name OvoControl G.

Company CEO Erick Wolf said U.S. government approval for the drug is
expected by the end of the year and it might be available commercially for
the 2006 breeding season.

The active ingredient—Nicarbazin—does not build up in the body tissue of
birds, dropping to undetectable levels five days after consumption, the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration’s website said.

Since Canada geese breed earlier than most other birds, other species
who eat treated bait should not be affected.

Wolf noted a previous avian birth-control compound, Ornitrol, was pulled
from the market in 1994 because it adversely affected non-target species.
_______________________________________________________

Barry Kent MacKay
Canadian Representative
Animal Protection Institute
www.api4animals.org